Diablo’s Island by Larisa

Diablo’s Island

By Larisa

Summary: Sonji and her so-called girlfriend end up on an island that is not quite as deserted as they first thought. The owner of Diablo Island, is not exactly happy to see them. However, when the tall, dark-haired island owner and the little blondes’ eyes meet, there are sparks aplenty. Neither woman is what she seems, but it seems that their destinies are intertwined in this whirlwind romance, that along with it’s usual Larisa happy ending, includes a simian wrecking crew and colorfully interesting parental units.

Part 1
Sonji gazed out at the small waves of the Pacific Ocean; she and her lover of three years had decided to take a vacation together for the first time. They had rented a 42-foot yacht to tour all of the Hawaiian Islands; they could take their time and not be rushed, that would have happened on a regular tour. She looked over her shoulder and brushed her shoulder length blonde hair from her sea green eyes.

Her lover Tabitha was on the raised deck covered from head to toe with a large beach towel, huge straw hat and sunglasses that made her look like a big bug. She had no idea why she even bothered to come out from below deck; she hated the sun and worse yet, the smell of the ocean. “Tabitha, I’m going below to check my e-mail, watch our heading. I don’t want to get too far off from Oahu and then spend all night trying to find the island in the dark.”

“Do I look like a deck hand to you,” She pulled her sunglasses down to show blue eyes outlined with black eyeliner and mascara. “I feel like I’m on board ship with Captain Bligh or Captain Hook and when are we going to eat?”

“Ohh for Christ sakes Tabitha, whose idea was it to rent this damn yacht? And the last time I cooked all you did was complain that I picked the wrong wine for the type of meat we were having, so you can cook your self.” She stomped down the stairs that would take her to the smaller berth that she was using for her laptop and time out room from her lover. She walked into the stately room and dropped down into the over stuffed recliner; she grabbed her laptop and leaned back while flipping the top open.

She stopped and just looked around her; the room was furnished somewhat like her living room at home with the exception of the expensive paintings that she had spent a fortune on. It was one of the things that Tabitha didn’t bitch about her spending money on, as if Tabitha had any say in how she spent her hard-earned money. She had more money than what she knew to do with and the old saying was right, you can’t buy happiness or love with it. She sighed and opened her e-mail account; she had been waiting for notice from one of her work partners to let her know if a deal had gone through. Being an investment broker had its up and downs and right now, she was on the up.

She had a deal that was worth close to 25 million dollars on the last step before it would be complete; her cut would be a huge chunk of money. More money than most people made in ten years and all she did was open another account and let it sit there, the interest would be sent to a charity but other than that, she did nothing with it. Tabitha always asked her why she just didn’t give the whole amount to charity, she explained that this way, they would always get money no matter how many years went by. She checked her e-mail and found that she had nothing but Spam, like why did she need wholesale Viagra? “Guess either you guys forgot to e-mail me or the deals not finished yet?” She decided to check on some of the sites she visited regularly to see if anything new had been added and saw that one of her favorite fan fiction authors had posted a new story. She downloaded a couple stories and got comfortable before she started reading.

**********

Tabitha pulled her thin arm from under her towel and checked the time on her diamond-encrusted watch; she rolled her eyes and pulled the thermos off the table beside her. “I’ll wait another hour before I start yelling for her.” She poured another margarita into her glass and sipped it slowly while watching the white caps on the ocean. She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes and fell asleep to the rolling yacht. She slept right through the high winds and the waves splashing up over the sides of the yacht.

******

Sonji fell from the recliner and staggered when she got up from the floor; she braced a hand on the wall and swayed with the toss of the yacht. She knew that something was wrong as soon as she cleared the door to the deck. The wind shoved her back against the door jam and almost sent her down the stairs backwards. “TABITHA!” She screamed and lurched towards where her lover’s lawn chair was up against the opposite railing of where she had been. She fell to her knees and crawled to her, grabbing the end, she pulled herself up and shook her drunken lover.

“God damn you wake up!” She grabbed her arm, pulled her from the chair and was dragging her across the deck when the yacht shot straight up in the air and rolled to its side. She held on to Tabitha as they pitched into the ice-cold water. She fought her way to the surface and pulled Tabitha up by her arm. She treaded water, and looked around for their yacht to see nothing but high waves coming towards them. “Son of a bitch! You always have to get DRUNK!” Her temper flared, she pulled back a hand and slapped Tabitha across her face. “Wake up you stupid bitch!” She slapped her again and saw blue eyes pop open and water spew from between her lips.

“Why are we in the ocean?” She looked around with bloodshot eyes and yelped when she saw a huge wave coming towards them. “Where’s the yacht?”

“Gone, why didn’t you move your ass and head us out of the storm?”
“Don’t blame me I’m not the one who planned our course!” She screamed when the wave crashed down on them and then popped to the surface to look for Sonji. “What are we going to do now, we can’t tread water forever!”

“Pick a direction and swim!” Sonji was madder than she had ever been in her entire life; she let the wave carry her upwards and looked around her. Off in the distance, she could see the dark outline of an island. “Swim that way, I can see the island!” She pointed and then started swimming against the waves. Every once in a while, she was able to cut through the wave and come out on the other side. It still felt like she had been swimming for days when she finally made it to the beach. She dropped down onto the cold wet sand and panted, minutes later, she felt Tabitha drop down next to her and whimper.

“I am never going on another boat, yacht or steam liner, my hair is ruined from swimming in salt water!” Sonji rolled to her back and covered her eyes; she wanted to run back out and drowned herself. As soon as they got back to the civilized part of the island, she was breaking it off. She couldn’t stand Tabitha anymore, her shallowness had really come out during their five days of vacation and she wasn’t about to put up with another ten. She lifted a hand and saw that Tabitha was trying to untangle her long dark hair and cussed when she broke one of her long blood red French cut fingernails. She groaned, rolled to her knees and took in the beach where they had landed. She started to walk towards the thick brush and stopped when Tabitha screamed her name.

“I’m going to see if there’s anywhere we can get out of this weather!” She pushed her hair back from her face and sighed when Tabitha came running towards her.

“Not without me, I’m not staying on the beach all alone.” She grabbed the back of Sonji’s t-shirt and held on for dear life. The storm had now reached the island, rain pelted them through the vegetation, and lightning flashed overhead and struck the tops of trees. They fought through the wind to an area up against a cliff side; Sonji dropped to the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest. Her teeth were chattering and she knew that Tabitha had to be colder than her.

All she had on was a skimpy string bikini that she had paid $250.00 for at some fancy salon on the main island. She would have been warmer if she had covered her body with dollar bills, definitely covered more as well. “Now what are we going to do, sit here all night and freeze to death? I can’t believe this happened, of all the asinine things!” She dropped down to her haunches and tried to press back into the hard rock behind her. “I will never go on vacation with you again; everything has gone wrong from the morning we flew out of LAX!” Sonji rolled her eyes and hugged her knees tighter to her chest, gritting her teeth; she got up and pulled Tabitha from the ground.

“Come on, there has to be something around here. Someone has to live this close to the beach and we’re not stopping until I find something!” She pulled Tabitha behind her through the wind whipped brush and torrential down pour. Three hours later with their lips blue and soaked past the skin to their bones, they dropped down onto the beach and hugged each other. “This is…hopeless…we…walked…in circles.” Tabitha stuttered through her chattering teeth. Sonji looked up at the sky and saw stars appear; she dropped her head down onto Tabitha’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“At least…the storm…is over; maybe it’ll…warm up…a bit.” She shivered and prayed for a blazing fire to warm themselves by. She looked up when she heard a noise in the bushes and jumped when a small form rushed out and back in a distance from where it appeared.

“Ohh my God, there’s wild animals around us!” Tabitha screamed right in Sonji’s ear, jumped up and ran to the edge of the ocean. “KILL IT BEFORE IT GETS ME!” She screamed again, jumped up and down, and pointed to the bushes. “Just don’t stand there Sonji Anderson, kill that animal!”

Sonji threw her hands in the air and stomped off into the bushes. “Come on and attack me, maybe you have huge fangs and you’ll suck all the blood from my body!” She turned in a circle and tilted her head up when something hit her on top of her head. “Can’t you throw something a little heavier and knock me out for the next 50 years or so?” Then she saw it, it was a small but had huge gold eyes that seemed to say to her that she would be supper that night. She shivered and then jumped when it made an ungodly noise and jumped from tree to tree and then disappeared. She turned and jogged back down to the beach to find Tabitha trying to start a fire by using wet seaweed. “What are you doing, that won’t burn and where did you have a lighter hidden?”

“Well then find me something because I am not going to sit here in the dark and think of where I could hide a lighter!” Her blue eyes flashed with irritation from her failed attempt at a fire.

“If you just so happened to have missed it, it stormed like a big dog and everything is soaked. If you want to try to find us a cave that some ancient tribe or maybe Captain Hook stocked with firewood then by all means be my guest.” She dropped down into the sand and hugged her knees to her chest.

“I knew I should have gone after that good looking guy in accounting, he would not have left us get thrown over board and if we did I’m sure that he would have a blazing fire started and caught us something to eat by now!” Green eyes looked up to the ranting woman, rolled and then closed. Sonji would just pretend that she was all alone and be done with it for the rest of the night.

******

“OK now what did you find?” A very tall woman with wild dark hair hanging down to her waist stalked the ring tailed Lemur that sat upon her worktable, she tilted her head sideways and looked into its large golden eyes. “Now where in the world did you find that ugly damn hat?” The small monkey dropped the hat over its small head and pulled the sides down to practically cover its entire body. “Come on Jimmy, I know you had to have gotten it somewhere, now where did you get it?” A small hand snuck out and pointed to the door. “That really helps me, now where’s Gibbon, I know she went with you?” She looked around her hut and found her other monkey with a pair of big sunglasses on her face; she shook her head and dropped down into her office chair.
“First a hat and now sunglasses, you guys didn’t steal those from John when he was here last week did you?” Gibbon shook her golden head and gave her a toothy grin. “I wonder what else you guys have stolen from his boat?” She pulled herself up to her worktable, slipped her wire-rimmed glasses on and went back to writing notes for her research. She jumped when the small piano in the corner was pounded on and then went back to work; she would have thought that after 20 years of having her capuchin monkey scare the Hell out of her with her lack of music abilities, that she would at least stop jumping.

“I wish you would learn something other than Beethoven’s 5th piano concerto, how about some Mozart?” She sighed when her long hair swung across her back and she felt small hands grab the sides of her glasses. From the corners of her pale blue eyes, she saw pale green fur and then little green eyes staring at her from each side of her face. “I bet you two are the only ones that didn’t go out and cause trouble?” She held up her pencil and let one of her pygmy marmosets crawl onto it. They were the smallest of her primates and the most lovable, when full grown, they were only six inches tall. “See that, Thelma and Louise are gonna get fresh fruit in the morning and you trouble makers aren’t getting any.”

She looked over to see golden eyes starring at her from under the ugly straw hat. “And you little man, stay out of John’s boat.” She pointed a finger at him, got up from her chair and went through her hut to her bedroom. She put the pencil in the cup on her nightstand and then let Louise crawl down from her glasses to clutch the front of her t-shirt. “Time for bed guys and I mean now, no piano playing and no playing in the cabinets!” She kicked off her tennis shoes, laid down on her bed and sighed when Thelma jumped from the pencil onto her face. “OK, move your little furry body down with your sister and no sucking on my shirt.” She crossed her hands on her stomach and drifted off to sleep even though her other monkeys were making ungodly sounds in the living room.

**********

The next morning, Sonji rolled over and jumped. She had bad hair days before but nothing could ever compare to the state that Tabitha’s hair was in. Frizzy was a very pale description, more like deep fried from a bad perm. She grimaced and rolled over to the other side and got to her feet. She stretched her arms up over her head and groaned at the stiffness in her muscles, turning towards the trees, she walked slowly. “Gods I feel like shit,” She rubbed her face with gritty hands and cussed under her breath. “That was smart, rub sand into your face; it’ll go good with your soar feet.” She had forgotten about her wet tennis shoes and knew that her feet were close to falling off from being wet all night. After relieving her full bladder, she went back out on the beach and snickered at her lover. “I have never seen you look so…terrifying before.” She wiped the smirk from her face when blue eyes fluttered open and then focused on her.

“What time is it?” Tabitha asked and then looked around them. “Ohh God it wasn’t an awful nightmare, we are really stranded on some strange beach.” She got to her feet, ran her hands through her hair and whimpered. “Ohh this is just great, I just had my hair done and now it’s…I need a mirror to describe it,” She looked to Sonji and held out a hand to her. “Give me your comb.”

“Do I look like I have a comb on me,” She held her hands out to her sides and raised a dark eyebrow. “I don’t have anything, not even my wallet.” She turned and looked out to the ocean hoping to see their yacht sitting out there unharmed. “I wonder if it sunk or it’s out there floating around?”

“And what good would that do us, we couldn’t get to it if we wanted to.” She stomped off towards the beach that they hadn’t investigated the night before. “I really need a martini, margarita, vodka on the rocks or even a plain old bourbon.”

“What you need is a pair of sheep shears.” Sonji mumbled, pulled off her shoes and followed. “I need a doctor before my feet fall off.” She flinched when the pale wrinkled flesh of her feet stepped on a small pebble. “Damn this really sucks, I may end up crawling.” She jumped three feet in the air when the same sound she had heard the night before rang out, she stopped and looked to the treetops and saw a golden body swinging from the tree limbs. “At least I know that monkeys won’t attack and eat us.” She continued on her way until she saw that Tabitha had stopped and was looking at a waterfall off in the distance.

“I’m going over there to wash this sand off and if we’re lucky, it’s fresh water.” She didn’t wait for Sonji but just strutted off towards the water falls.

“Go then, I’m going to look around and maybe find some wood that I can set out to dry and something to eat.” She figured if there were monkeys, then there was fruit. Stepping gingerly into the brush, she started searching for branches and anything else that would burn. What ever she found, she tossed on the beach and then searched some more. When she had gathered enough for a good-sized fire and enough to last a day or two, she started searching the trees for edible fruit.

*****

“HAAA! I have this gorgeous little lagoon all to myself.” Tabitha shimmied out of her bikini, rinsed it out and then hung it from some branches to dry. Doing what she thought was an impressive dive; she flopped into the water and stayed under until she needed air. Popping to the surface, she shook her head and then did a backstroke across the crystal blue water. “This place isn’t so bad, nice lagoon, tropical flowers, water falls and…” She looked back towards where she had left her bikini and saw that it was no longer there.

“THIEVES!” She screamed and swam back to shore. “SONJI THIS IS NO WHERE NEAR HUMUROUS!” She continued to scream on her way back to the beach. “I can’t believe her; she has the audacity to steal the only clothing I have.” She looked down at her fake firm breasts and stuck her chest out even further. “That’s OK, have your fun now and I’ll have mine later.” She continued to strut down the beach and found the pile of wood that her lover had tossed out of the trees. Dropping down into the sand, she grimaced when it got into crevices better-left sand free. “Just great, now I’ll chaff and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. My beautiful flawless skin will be forever ruined…unless my plastic surgeon can fix it, maybe a chemical peel or two?” She sat and pouted, she knew that when Sonji saw her that she would give back her bikini.

**********

Sonji climbed up a tree and threw down a bunch of small banana’s, she grinned all the way back to the ground and was about to pick them up when she felt the ground start to suck at her feet. She tried to pull free but the more she struggled the more she sunk, she grabbed at some tree roots and felt them break off in her hand. Just as she was about to yell for Tabitha, strong arms grabbed her by her forearms and lifted her from the quagmire she was stuck in. “Thank God Tabitha, I thought I was going to die in there,” She tilted her head back and looked into pale blue eyes. “You’re not Tabitha…Ohhh God, you’re not her.” She jumped away from the tall dark woman and fell on her ass. “Where’s Tabitha?”

“Who?” The other woman asked and tilted her head to the side.

“Tabitha, my…friend…I have to find her and let her know that we’re not alone here.” She struggled to her feet and fell again.

“Who are you and what are you doing on my island?” She walked closer until she was standing over a gapping Sonji. “Are you going to answer me or what?” Sonji took in the way she was dressed and then up into crystal blue eyes.

“Our yacht sunk last night and we swam here, what do you mean your island. You can’t own Oahu…can you?”

“This isn’t Oahu, this is Diablo Island and you’re about a four hour boat ride from there.”

“Ohhh shit, you wouldn’t happen to have a boat to take us to Oahu would you or a radio to call for help?”

“Nope, no boat and my radio’s broke. Let’s go find this Tabitha so you can tell her the bad news.” She offered a hand to Sonji and froze when they touched, she could swear that she had touched a hot poker, and knew it showed in her face. Sonji was reluctant to let go of her hand but did so anyway with a small smile.

“She was going to the water falls to wash off and see if it was fresh water,” She looked over her shoulder and took in the red material that was wrapped around trim hips the same way she had seen on the men when they were on Kauni. It was the fishnet half shirt that really got her attention; she tripped over a tree root because of it and gasped from her stubbed toes. “She should be back by now, I hope.” She stepped onto the beach and rolled her eyes at her lover. “Tabitha where’s your bikini?”

“You should know you stole it while I was swimming.” She opened her eyes and gasped when she saw the strange woman standing behind Sonji. “Ohhh my God why didn’t you tell me you weren’t alone, I’m lying her naked with a strange woman looking at me!” She tried to cover all the vital parts and snarled at the deep laughter coming from the very tall woman. “Give me your shirt Sonji!”

“Ohh for Christ sakes Tabitha, you act like you haven’t flashed your tits at complete strangers before.” She pulled off her shirt, tossed it to her and stood there bare chested. “Feel better now that I’m standing here half naked?” She felt a blush work its way up her face when more laughter rang out from behind her.

“As a matter of fact yes I do, you know I can’t get sunburned. My skin is very sensitive and I don’t want to wrinkle or get freckles all over me.” She held out a hand to the other woman and introduced her self. “I’m Tabitha Langston and who might you be?”

“I’m Diablo, the owner of this island and that’s all you need to know and as for your bikini, I think I have an idea of where it went.” She turned and headed back through the trees and brush. “Are you two coming or not?” Tabitha grabbed Sonji by her upper arm and whispered in her ear.

“Where did you find the pirate from Hell?”

“She saved me from a death by quagmire so be nice to her or she’ll throw you out into the ocean.” They followed in a zigzag pattern until the came to a break in the vegetation, Sonji felt her jaw drop when she saw the large hut like structure with another smaller one sitting on a perfect lawn. She looked at the garden furniture sitting on a rock patio beside a propane BBQ, and then her eyes went to a kids jungle gym off to the other side. “She must have kids here with her.” She whispered to Tabitha and stopped when she heard the sound that sent her hair to stand on end.

“Jimmy, Gibbon get out here!” Diablo yelled after making the horrible noise.

“Just great, I was spied on by two little boys.” Tabitha growled and rolled her eyes with embarrassment. She looked around them and then felt her mouth fall open when two monkeys came running out of the large hut like structure. “Those are the ugliest children I have ever seen and they have my hat too!”

“I saw that black and white one last night and the gold one just before I got stuck in that stuff,” Sonji said and stepped closer to Diablo. “Are they yours or do they just hang around?” Diablo took the bikini and hat from her monkeys and handed them each a small banana from the bag hanging off her side.

“They’re mine and if they know what’s good for them, they’ll haul their hairy little bodies back inside.” She pointed and grinned when they both grinned at her and then ran back inside with their bananas. She walked over to Tabitha and handed her the bikini and straw hat. “They’re thieves and you’re not their first victim.”

Sonji touched her upper arm and then dropped her hand away when it tingled from the warm skin. “So there is someone else here on the island?”

“Nope, a friend of mine comes out twice a month to bring me supplies. They steal stuff off his boat and I find it after he’s left.” She walked towards her hut and waved a hand at them. “Come on inside, I was on my way back for lunch, you’re welcome to join me.” She held the screen door open and then went to her kitchen to get lunch started. She looked over her shoulder to her guests and saw them looking around her living room. “Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable, I don’t have much in the way of comfort but you’re welcome to what I do have.” Sonji sat down on the old couch and sighed, there wasn’t anything wrong with what Diablo had. In fact, it was nice for being on an island out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. She jumped when Tabitha let out a blood-curdling scream and jumped into her lap. “What the Hells wrong with you?” She shoved her lover away and then saw the organ grinder monkey sitting on the arm of the couch grinning at her.

“That’s Beethoven, she’s harmless unless you have delicate ear drums.” Diablo said and then brought a plate of sandwiches and a pitcher of iced tea into the living room and set them on the coffee table. “Bee go play with your violin or something but leave the drums alone.” She tapped her monkey on her head and pointed to the small violin sitting in a toy box.

“She plays the violin?” Sonji asked and then took one of the roast beef sandwiches from the plate.

“Among other things including playing on my nerves.” Diablo sat down in a chair across from the couch and grabbed a sandwich. “So the storm got you two last night?”

“No, it was still light out when it hit us. I have no idea how far we swam to get here.” She looked to her lover and rolled her eyes at the delicate way she was eating and fluttering her eyelashes at Diablo. “I saw the island and thought it was Oahu.” She shrugged her shoulders and looked back into eyes bluer than her lover’s. “How long before your friend comes back and will he take us to Oahu?”

“Not until next Friday, he’s supposed to have the part for my radio and he’ll take you back with him if you ask.”

Tabitha stopped mid bite and looked at her with wide eyes. “You don’t have a radio, what happens if you have an emergency?”

“I stand out on the beach and yell help really loud,” She got up from her chair and went to the back of the hut where her bedroom was, she returned a few minutes later with a t-shirt and handed it to Sonji. “You might want to keep as covered as possible, at night the bugs can eat you alive.”

“That’s good to know, last night was miserable but the bugs didn’t get us.” She pulled the shirt on and gave Tabitha a glare when she mumbled under her breath. “Just shut up and eat your sandwich, it’s your fault we’re stuck here not mine.”

“Don’t you start that again, if you hadn’t been down below, we wouldn’t have run into the storm. You know I don’t know anything about sailing or yachts.”

“You told me before we rented the damn thing that you had been on a yacht and knew how to sail!”

“I was on a yacht before and my ex-lover Angie used to take us sailing in San Diego, that’s a big difference.”

“Ohh now you tell me the complete story, I should have known that you would leave out vital information.” Sonji sighed and moved further away from her lover, if the shallowness hadn’t made up her mind to break up with Tabitha, this certainly did. She was so tired of how she thought only of herself and the half-truths that her lover told her all the time. “That’s it, no more.” She got up, thanked Diablo for her kindness and left. “I can’t get away from her soon enough, I can’t believe that I’ve stayed with her this long.” She ran her fingers through her hair and wandered back the way they had come.

Tabitha smiled at Diablo and reached for a glass of iced tea, she took a small sip and moaned seductively. “So do you live here all alone and what do you do here?” She flashed a bright smile and fluttered her lashes above the dark black smudge marks from her smeared make-up.

“Yeah I live here all alone and that’s exactly how I like it, John will be more than happy to take you guys back to Oahu. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.” She walked into her bedroom, grabbed her backpack and headed out the front door. She hoped that Tabitha would wander back to the beach before she got back from her where she was headed. The woman had gotten on her nerves in the short time that she had been there and then to openly flirt with her with her lover right beside her.
“Lady you are no where near my type, your shallowness rings like a church bell.” She whistled and then felt the weight of Gibbon drop down onto her shoulders. “Are you going to help me this time or just play in the dirt?” Shivers ran up her spine when small hands scratched her scalp and searched her hair. “Ohh come on, I don’t have any bugs in my hair.” She continued on her hike to a part of the island that brought her there to begin with, years before, she had heard of an abandoned ancient city, no one knew why or where the natives had gone. For the last ten years, she had been slowly uncovering the city trying to find its secrets.

The small shed near her hut was where she kept all the artifacts that she uncovered; she had yet to tell the science world what she had and probably never would. She didn’t want anyone coming to her island and taking over and claiming everything for some university. She grabbed a rope that she had tied to a thick tree below and used it to help pull her self up the steep incline, after ten years, she still had trouble making it all the way to the top without the help of the rope. She figured that even if she was 20 years younger she still wouldn’t be able to make it without help.

********

Sonji stacked the branches she had gotten earlier in a teepee, stuck some dried moss below it and then remembered that she had no way of lighting it. “Son of a bitch, I should have asked Diablo if I could have some matches.” She dropped down onto the palm leaves she had collected on her way back to the beach and dropped her chin on her knees. “I wonder what she does here all alone and why she’s here to begin with?” She could still see the pale blue eyes and the way her body moved when she walked. Tabitha was an attractive woman but Diablo was a goddess, the way her high cheekbones slanted down to a strong chin and her dark hair set off the blueness of her eyes. Not to mention the dark tan of her skin and how silky it felt to her fingertips. She sighed and fell back on the leaves, closed her eyes and tried to bring forth the images of the strong looking woman.

“Your friend is a rude person and I can’t wait to get off this God forsaken island of hers.” Tabitha dropped down beside Sonji and tapped her on the chest. “She left me sitting there in her hut all alone with those monkeys!” She rubbed at her arms and shook Sonji’s shoulder. “They probably have diseases and lice, how can she live with monkeys? Maybe she’s an escaped ax murderer and we should report her to the authorities when we get back?”

“Ohh will you just mind your own business and leave her alone, who cares why she’s here, she’s not hurting anyone and she did feed us.”

“Ohh I see now, you want to sleep with her. I’m not good enough now that you found monkey woman.”

“Ooohh please, I talked to her for a whole half hour and you have me jumping in bed with her. She may not even be gay so just drop the subject already and give me your lighter.” She took the lighter from Tabitha and started the moss on fire, within a few minutes she had a good-sized fire going and felt better. “Now we won’t freeze tonight and the bugs will stay away.”

“And what am I supposed to do about my hair and food for later tonight?”

“I don’t know and there’s bananas right there at the edge of the trees.” She laid back and closed her eyes not caring what Tabitha did with herself.

“Monkey food, you found us monkey food, just great. All that potassium is sure to cause problems with my complexion not to mention my metabolism. If I get sick it will be your fault and I will make sure you suffer for it.”

“Like I don’t suffer enough already,” She looked over to her snarling lover and growled. “Maybe Diablo wouldn’t have been so rude if you hadn’t flirted with her, I think you’re the one who wants to bed her.”

“Ohh puleeease, like I would lower myself to having sex with a savage pirate who lives on an island all alone and sleeps with monkeys.” Her blue eyes flashed in the fire light as she primped. “She does have a body that makes your mouth water but she needs to cut and style her hair and wear more acceptable clothes.”

“Is that all you think about is how a person dresses or wears their hair or make-up?”

“Of course, why do you think I’m the top seller at Bloomingdales? You have to have an eye for that kind of thing; you know make an ugly duckling into a swan. Make them desirable to every walking creature and build their ego up at the same time.”

“Make them shallow, stuck up and a duplicate of yourself. Just what this world needs more of,” she moved to the other side of the fire to get out of the smoke that seemed to follow her no matter where she went. “I maybe rich but I don’t act like it and clothes don’t matter to me or the way I look.”

“I know this and so do all our friends, that is all I hear about is why you dress like some regular slaving class person. You are a multi-millionaire and you don’t act like it and what really irritates all of us, is you giving away so much money.” She threw her hands in the air and pouted. “You could buy me that huge mansion in Bellaire I love and maybe one of those new sporty coupes that BMW just came out with.”

“You know what Tabitha; you can go straight to Hell. I’ll give every penny I have to the homeless and children’s charities before I spend one more penny on you!” She got up from the fire and walked off into the darkness. “Maybe I’ll buy an island and live like Diablo does, I could get a chimp for company. Guaranteed to be a more interesting conversation than what I have with Tabitha, plus it could fend for itself and get us bananas to put on our cheerios.” She dropped down into the sand beside a tall palm tree, brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top of her hands.

She looked to the sky and saw dark clouds heading their way. “Just great, another storm, I feel like I’m on that Survivor program and I got stuck with the person no one else wanted in their group.” She leaned to the side, grabbed a huge heart shaped leaf and draped it over her head. “Maybe I should make some kind of structure to keep us out of the weather? Nahh, Tabitha deserves to sit out in the rain.” She shivered when the wind picked up and blew cold air in off the ocean, she sat there thinking deep thoughts and never noticed when it started to pour buckets of ice-cold rain.

“Hey, instead of sitting out here and getting drenched, you two can stay in my hut.” Diablo said from behind her and snorted when Sonji jumped and let out a yelp when cold water ran down the back of her neck from the leaf.

“You wouldn’t mind, I mean I wouldn’t want us to be a burden or anything?”

“As long as you keep your bimbo’s mouth shut, no I wouldn’t mind. Besides, you don’t need to get sick from being out here in the weather.” She offered a hand to Sonji and pulled her up from the ground. “Go get Tabitha and I’ll meet you guys back at my hut.” She disappeared back into the foliage before Sonji could say another word. She looked over to where the fire was and saw that Tabitha had made a little teepee structure over it; the only problem she saw was that it was only big enough for one person and the fire. Shaking her head, she walked over and pulled open a hole big enough to look through.

“Diablo invited us to stay in her hut tonight; do you want to come with me?”

“I don’t care if there’s a hurricane coming; I will not stay in the monkey woman’s hut, even if you paid me ten million dollars to do it.” She slapped at Sonji’s hands and went back to putting small pieces of wood on the fire.

“Fine by me, I’ll go sit in a nice warm hut with the monkey woman and enjoy every single second I’m in her company.” She mumbled to herself on her way towards the path that led to Diablo’s. “I’m not too proud to accept help when it’s offered.” She stepped through to the clearing a few minutes later and was relieved to see a light burning inside the hut. She hadn’t even thought of how Diablo had electricity on the island and would ask her about it. She stopped at the screen door and tapped on the wooden frame. “Hello, Diablo are you in there?”

“Come on in just watch out for the roaming critters.” Sonji stepped in slowly and saw what she meant by critters. Four Jackson’s chameleons slowly walked across the floors while honeycreepers sat on the windowsills and table singing.

“Do they come in every time it storms or are they regular visitors?” She stepped over to the large worktable and saw bits and pieces of pottery and gold coins littering the top along with a well-worn leather notebook. When Diablo turned her head and looked up at her, she couldn’t help but grin at the tiny monkeys hanging from her glasses. “I bet no one else has glasses like yours, what kind of monkey are they?”

“Thelma and Louise are Brazilian pygmy marmosets, I smuggled them out of the jungle years ago.” She grinned and closed her notebook. “Where’s Tabitha?”

“Ohh she’s being her difficult holier-than-thou self and stayed out on the beach. Thank you for inviting me, I don’t think I would have survived on the beach without killing her.”

“I noticed that she made her self a little Teepee and that you were sitting out in the weather.” She gently pulled her glasses off and waited until the marmosets crawled onto pencils in her pencil holder. “Why do you put up with her shit, I would’ve tossed her out for shark bait before we even got away from Oahu?”

Sonji sighed, sat down on the floor and leaned up against the wall; she rubbed her tired eyes and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess after three years of putting up with all her shit, I don’t notice anymore or I just don’t care. Sometimes I just filter her out and pretend I’m all alone,” She grinned up at Diablo and chuckled. “That is until she screams loud enough to make my hair stand on end. What about you, don’t you get lonely here all by yourself?”

Diablo leaned back in her chair and looked up to the ceiling for a moment before she connected eyes with Sonji. “Not really, there’s alone and then there’s lonely. I’m never really alone as you can see,” She pointed to all the colorful birds sitting on the windowsills and the other creatures that had come in after Sonji. “I have my work that keeps me busy and I’ve never really been a people person. This place suits me and I have John who comes twice a month if I want someone to talk to.”

“I noticed you have some stuff there on your table, what is it that you do if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Ohh I dabble in archeology…there’s a place on the island that I go to and find bits and pieces of the past.”

Sonji narrowed an eye at her and pulled a battered book from the table, she flipped it over and saw Diablo’s picture on the back. “Uhh huh, so Dr. Diablo Hawthorne of the Mayan archeological site is just a dabbler?”

“I’m retired so yes I’m just a dabbler, what about you, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m an investment broker in Los Angles, it’s a boring existence and I don’t enjoy it like I used to.”

“Ohh but I can imagine how lucrative it is, it would have to be if you could rent a yacht and sail around the islands.”

“Yeah that cost quite a bit and if it is sitting on the bottom of the ocean then I just bought it.” She looked down at her bare feet and spoke in a whisper. “Money isn’t everything ya know, I give a lot of it away and I don’t go hog wild and buy needless things. If anyone ever saw my house, they would think I was a blue collar worker.” She looked up with twinkling sea green eyes and grinned. “I drive a fifteen year old Ford Taurus that has more dings and scraps than most garbage cans.”

“That’s something I don’t have,” Diablo grinned back at her. “I don’t really need a car here and I never leave the island so a car would be an expense I can’t afford.” She got up from her chair and stretched her arms over her head; loud pops came from her spin and sent shivers down Sonji’s back. “Are you hungry, I have some fried squash with onions, peppers and bacon on the stove?”

“Does John bring that stuff as well?” She pushed up from the floor and followed Diablo into her kitchen.

“I have a garden out back; I planted it there because there’s a small water supply that runs through there.” She pulled a bowl down from a cabinet and retrieved a fork from the dish strainer next to the sink. “If you’re wondering, I do have indoor plumbing besides the kitchen sink. So if you want to take a shower you’re more than welcome to it.”

“I was going to ask you about how you have electricity and running water.”

“I have solar panels and an emergency generator if there’s not enough sun to run everything. It’s approximately what we used when we were on dig sites, except I’ve gone to a more extravagant level. I had to since I live here and I can’t afford for my refrigerator to go out.” She pointed to another door that Sonji hadn’t noticed. “That’s the bathroom, it leads into my bedroom so if you don’t want the company of little monkeys, you might want to close the other door.”

“Thanks, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay your kindness.” She sat down at the small kitchen table and started to eat the still warm food.

“No need, my ma taught me well and if she found out I let someone sit on the beach during a storm, she’d come here and kick my ass.” She handed Sonji a can of Coke and then went into her bedroom. She came out a few minutes later with a clean t-shirt and a blue linen cloth. “Here’s some clean clothes, there’s a compact washer in the bathroom. Just toss your dirty clothes in there and I’ll wash them later.” She placed the clothes on the table and went back over to finish with her inventory notes and pack the fragments in a cardboard box.

She had gotten lucky that day with the find of some gold coins that she knew were from the 1600’s or earlier. She often wondered about Captain John Cook or Captain Cowley being near the islands, she hadn’t been able to find their complete logs on their voyages but at some point in time, there had been Spaniards on her small island. Because those were the coins, she had been uncovering along with some Hawaiian helmets and other weapons.

Most of the stuff that she did find were small statues of the goddess Pele, Hinakuluiau and the gods Kuula, Mokualii. What surprised her was the find of a small statue of the God Ouli; it was believed, that if you prayed to him, he would kill men. She wandered if the reason for the statue being there was because of pirates coming to the island and that it might be the reason for the natives disappearance. Whether by leaving for the other islands or by death at the hands of the pirates, she knew that she might never discover the real reason. She finished with her notes and started to pack the items in the box when she noticed the sound of the shower shutting off, she knew that once she started on something that the hours slipped away from her. She rolled her head on her shoulders, stretched her arms over her head and groaned at the stiffness in her muscles.

“I feel so much better now, thank you.” Sonji said and used her towel to dry her hair. “I hope Tabitha is turning blue at this very moment, I swear she can be so…blonde at times.” She draped the towel around her neck and stepped closer to Diablo. “Can you show me how you wrap this thing, I tried but I just can’t get it right.” She held her breath when long fingers unwrapped the linen cloth and removed it from her hips. She closed her eyes and held back a moan when Diablo brought the material through her legs and then wrapped it the proper way.

“There ya go; it takes a while to get it just right. John showed me years ago the right way; it’s kind of a male thing if you know what I mean.”

“You mean that only the guys wear it this way?” At Diablo’s nod, she grinned and nodded her head. “That’s cool; I’ve always been just one of the guys. Tabitha goes nuts when I wear a suit that’s cut more manly then feminine, she’s tried for years to get me in skirts.”

“My ma gave up when I was six with the skirt deal; she caught me with pants rolled up underneath it one day and that did it for her.” She got up from her chair, went over to a large steamer trunk and pulled out a pillow and thin blanket. “You can sleep on the couch, it’s comfortable and the monkeys won’t bother you.”

“Where do they sleep?” She asked after taking the stuff from Diablo.

“They have a crib in my room, but Thelma and Louise sleep with me.”

“Those tiny little things, how do you not roll over on them?”

“You’d be surprised at the places they sleep, I’ve woke up and thought I went blind because they were on my face. The worse part is when they stick their little hands up my nose.” She grinned at the horrified look on Sonji’s face and left for her bedroom. Pulling her shirt over her head, she tossed it into the washer along with her linen wrap. She flipped it on and then grabbed a worn pair of cotton shorts from her dresser before crawling into bed. She let out a long whistle and heard her monkeys come charging into her room and crawl up into their crib, from the noise they were making, she knew they were having their nightly wrestling match. “Will you guys just lay down and go to sleep?” She groaned when two tiny bodies jumped on her face and then curled up on her chest and throat.

***********

Tabitha sat close enough to the fire to singe the hair on her toes; she sniffled, wiped her nose and sneezed half a dozen times. She was miserable but there was no way she was going to go to the monkey woman’s hut in the middle of the night. She could care less that her lover was there and was nice, dry, and probably sleeping like a baby. She shivered and wiped at the water that ran down the back of her neck again. “They can both kiss my perfect white ass; they are both freaks as far as I’m concerned. Sonji’s a multi-millionaire that gives her money to charities, I’m a charity, and she should give it all to me!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, threw an arm out and knocked her teepee down. She cussed and scampered around trying to get it back up before the rain killed her fire. “I HATE you Sonji, I should have went to Bermuda like I wanted! Never again, this is it it’s over and I hope you get a monkey disease and your tits fall off from jungle rot!” She kicked at the palm branches and stomped off to huddle under a nearby tree.

*********

Sonji woke to small fingers going through her hair and warm breath on her cheek; she opened one eye and saw a little face looking back at her. Moving a little, she saw that it was Beethoven playing with her hair and Jimmy was pulling on her toes. “You guys are worse than kids aren’t you?” She sat up and then saw Gibbon stretched out across the back of the couch playing with a matchbox car.

“I treat them like they’re humans, there’s not much difference between them and man…well, except that they’re smarter.” She grinned and handed Sonji a cup of coffee. “I’ll start breakfast now that you’re awake and afterwards we’ll go down and see if Tabitha’s still there.”

“God real coffee, I haven’t had this since before I left for the airport.” She took a sip and moaned. “Tabitha makes me drink that damn decaf stuff that tastes like shit.”

“I have John bring me a couple pounds of Kona beans every trip, I haven’t had anything like Folgers in over ten years.” She poured cream and sugar in her cup and then filled it the rest of the way with the full-bodied coffee. “Do you like eggs and bacon?”

“I’ll eat anything that doesn’t scream when you stab a fork in it, with the exception of some of the stuff Tabitha cooks. She likes that fancy stuff that you can’t pronounce or spell. I’m one for a nice thick steak, baked potato and a veggie.”

“I hear ya; I hate that fancy shit that adds up to noodles with mayonnaise poured over ’em. I would kill for a Quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a big chocolate shake.” Sonji got up from the couch and noticed that Diablo was naked from the waist up; she took a deep breath and walked the short distance to the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room.

“Is there anything I can do, I can cook or what ever you need done?” She stood there taking in every inch of Diablo’s deeply tanned back and the way her muscles rolled beneath. She felt heat develop between her legs and moved her feet closer together, it had been a long time since a woman caused that reaction in her and it just had to be a straight woman at that.

“You can cut up some peppers for me, there’s a knife in the drawer beside me and peppers in the crisper.” She watched out of the corner of her eye as Sonji pulled open the drawer and found the knife; she watched her long fingers flip the knife through them before setting it on the counter. A small grin came with the rise of a dark eyebrow when she bent over to get the peppers out, blue eyes lingered on the backs of muscled legs and up to where the linen started.

“Well isn’t this cozy?” Tabitha said through the screen door and stood there with her hands on her thin hips glaring. Diablo waved a hand at her and motioned again with a nod of her head.

“Come on in, we’re just starting breakfast.”

Tabitha made her usual Queen of the world entrance and dropped down in a chair at the table. “Do I have to eat with monkeys crawling all over the table?” She took a linen napkin, snapped it and placed it across her lap.

“They don’t mind eating at the same table with you so why should you mind if you eat with them.” She bit back a remark about their table manners being better and that they were never rude either. She looked to her side, saw Sonji holding back her laughter, and smiled at her. “Would you add the peppers and keep an eye on it while I gather up my kids?”

“Sure, you want anything else in the eggs besides the peppers?”

“Search through the refrigerator, I think I have some cheese in there and anything else you want to add.” She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and went out the door towards the jungle gym.

“So did you fuck her last night?” Sonji slipped with the knife and sliced her index and middle finger.

“Son of a bitch!” She put her fingers under the faucet, turned the water on and shot a glare at her lover. “What the Hell is wrong with you?” She wrapped her fingers in a towel and pulled the scrambled eggs from the burner.

“Well, you’re helping her cook breakfast; you’re clean and have her clothes on so you had to have fucked her.” Sonji turned around and leaned towards her lover.

“For your information, if she gave me the chance, yes I would make love to her. But she’s straight and unlike you, she’s not a rude bitch!” She went back to fixing the eggs and shooting glances over her shoulder. “She invited you to stay here last night but you had to be a giant asshole and sleep out on the beach during a storm. So don’t go getting nasty with me or taking your nasty temper out on Diablo.”

Tabitha threw her hands in the air and yelled. “Fine, you want her; you can have her because you’re a waste of my precious time.” She got up from the table, stopped beside Sonji and slapped her across her face. “We are through!”

Sonji grabbed her cheek and watched Tabitha storm out the door, a few seconds later, Diablo came rushing in and saw the bright red hand print across her cheek. “For Goddesss sake, what is wrong with her, is she insane?” She reached into the freezer, pulled out a handful of ice cubes and searched for the dishtowel.

“Sorry, it’s around my hand, I cut my fingers.” She held up the blood soaked towel and then hid her face so that Diablo wouldn’t see her tear filled eyes.

“Ohh geez, come in the bathroom and let me look at them.” She took Sonji by her arm and led her to the bathroom, moving her over to the toilet; she pushed her down and pulled out her first aide kit. “I should have warned you how sharp my knives are…,”

“It wasn’t your fault, Tabitha said something and I turned and cut my fingers.” She flinched when Diablo unwrapped the towel and stuck her hand under the cold water coming from the faucet. “She’s such a bitch; she accused us of sleeping together.” She saw lightning flash in pale blue eyes and wished that she hadn’t said anything. “I told her she was wrong but she’s…,”

“Don’t worry about it; I think she was just looking for an excuse to break it off with you.” She gave her a crocked smile and started to clean her fingers with peroxide.

“I told her the other day but she always has had to have the last word no matter what we’re talking about.” She winched and growled at Diablo when she pulled the cuts open. “I’m kind of relieved that she did this, I thought it was going to be one of those messy breakups where she screamed, yelled and tried to rip my arms off.”

“From the mark across your face and two fingers cut, I’d say she came close.” She put antibiotic on the cuts and then Band-Aids. “You’re all set; just try to keep them dry and I’ll leave the kit out so you can change the band-aids.”

“Thanks, I have no idea what I would have done without you here.” She cupped her throbbing fingers in her other hand and used her shoulder to dry her tears.

“If you get technical about it, you wouldn’t have cut your fingers.”

“True, but I’m glad you’re here. I hate the thought of being on an uninhibited island for the rest of my life with just Tabitha for company.” She shivered and rolled her eyes. “I would have jumped in the ocean after a week and prayed to the shark God to come and get me.”

“You wouldn’t need him; Tabitha’s a land shark if I ever saw one. Come on let’s go eat before the kids get it.”

*******

Tabitha swatted at huge bugs, scratched at her sun burned arms and whimpered every step that she took towards her little beach site. On her way, she found some banana’s on the ground and grabbed them. She knew that she made a big mistake by yelling at Sonji, she had never cheated on her in their entire relationship. Not that she herself hadn’t cheated, but she didn’t consider sleeping with a man as cheating on her female lover. “He bought me dinner, what was I supposed to do, say no?” She threw a banana peel on the dead fire and peeled another one. “He had the biggest dick I have ever had and wanted to see more of me, wonder if he’s still around. He was rich, drove a Porsche and had that beachside house with all the glass on the beachfront side.” She dropped down in the sand and ate three more bananas before she decided to go and get a drink of water. “How many days have I been here?” She tried to count the days but with all the other thoughts running through her head, she had no idea.

*******

“You’re sure about this?” Sonji asked Diablo, held the food, clothes, bottled water and small tent out in front of her.

“Of course, she maybe an asshole but I can’t let her stay down there with nothing. I can spare the food and stuff and it’s up to her whether she uses it.” She stopped at the edge of the trees and watched Sonji jog over to the small beach site and place the stuff on top of the smashed palm leaves. She looked around and shrugged her shoulders when she didn’t see Tabitha and then jogged back to Diablo.

“She must be over at the waterfalls getting cleaned up; she’s stupid if she doesn’t use the stuff.” She stepped closer to her and looked up from her five foot five height into blue eyes. “What’s your plans for today if you don’t mind telling me?”

“Ohh I thought maybe you’d like to see more of the island, there’s a lot more than the beach and my yard.” She took Sonji’s hand and led her back onto the beach in the direction that she had searched right after they had swum to shore. “There’s a little cove on this side of the island, that’s where I do all my fishing and trapping. I have a taste for some fresh fish and maybe some lobster if we’re lucky.” They walked for twenty minutes before Diablo stopped and cut up through some brush to her small cove, she waited for Sonji and then walked out on a large piece of lava rock. “I fish here because it’s not windy and the waters shallow enough to see the bottom.”

“You fish with a rod or with nets?” Sonji asked as she jumped to stand beside her on the rock. I saw some men using these big nets on one of the islands and wondered how they could manage to pull all that weight in.”

“They’ve been doing it that way their entire lives, but I use a pronged spear, I only need a fish or two and using a net would be a waste.” She reached down beside her foot, picked up her long handled spear and took a wide footed stance. Sonji watched her close her eyes and hold the spear above her shoulder.

“You spear fish with your eyes closed?”

“It’s called Zen spearing; I learned how to do it in Africa.”

Sonji snorted and shrugged her shoulders, she had never heard of it before but then again, she had never been to Africa either. She was amazed when the tip of the spear followed the large fish swimming below them and in a split second, Diablo was falling sideways into the water. She dropped to her knees and watched her surface with Gibbon attached to her face. “Ohh I get it now, you stand there and when you fall in the water you hope you stab a fish.” She laughed when Gibbon jumped from Diablo, shook her long hair of water and scampered off in to the trees.

“I hate when they do that,” She growled and crawled back up onto the rock. “Now you see why I never get lonely, I have my kids to keep me from getting that way.” She flipped her hair back over her shoulders and grabbed the rope that Sonji failed to notice attached to the end of the spear. “I’ve missed more fish that way…”

“Ohh I think it has more to do with your eyes being closed then monkey’s jumping on your head.” She smiled into narrow blue eyes and took the spear from her hand. “I can’t be that hard, I used to gig frogs at night with just a flashlight with my grandpa.”

“Ohh go ahead and show me up,” She threw her hands in the air and dove off into the water, after she surfaced; she placed a wire cage on the rock and went back under. She pulled two more cages up and then rejoined Sonji. “We have some lobsters, so if you’d rather have that then fish?” She pulled a smaller lobster from a cage and put it back in the water. “I always put the females back.” She gave Sonji a quick smile and then put three large males into one cage before dropping the others back into the water. “I only take what I need and try to keep the balance of nature, there’s a coral reef not too far from here that I can show you. It’s not as big as the ones near the other islands but it’s never been touched by human hands.”

“I read somewhere that just touching certain coral can either kill or damage it, why is that?”

“Some of its very delicate and when it gets touched, it damages the fine hairs that grab plankton. If it can’t eat, then it can’t survive.” She grabbed onto the cage, looked around her and then jumped to the sandy beach. “Keep an eye out for my kids; they like to release my food back into the sea.”

“Maybe they’ll go chase Tabitha out into the water, she hates animals,” She shook her head and then went on with what she was about to say. “She calls you the monkey woman.”

“I know, I heard her ranting, I don’t care what she thinks of me, I’m happy with my life and there’s no reason for me to impress anyone. She’s the type that has to fit in with the in-crowd and impress with her designer clothes.”

Sonji just starred with opened mouth wonder at her, she had Tabitha all figured out and she had only seen her a few times. “You have her figured out all right; it took me months to see it.”

“Its part of Archeology and being a corner lurker,” She grinned and held back a vine for Sonji to go before her into her back yard. “I’m not known for my social skills but I watched a lot of people at the mandatory functions and knew who was doing the back stabbing to whom.” They walked towards a long picnic table; Sonji stopped and watched three of Diablo’s monkeys playing on the monkey bars and slide.

“Ya know, when we first came over here I thought you had regular kids when I saw that.”

“John brought me that, he said that my kids needed something to play on, the thing is, when he comes over, he plays on it.” Sonji laughed when Gibbon pushed the ring-tailed lemur Jimmy down the slide backwards and then stood at the top blocking it from Beethoven.

“Those breeds of primates don’t usually get along do they, I mean in nature?”

“No, but I’ve had them all since they were babies and like any other animal, if they’re raised together they get along.” She pulled the lobsters from the cage and placed them in a large bucket. “Would you watch these while I go put the pot on to boil?”

Sonji nodded her head and continued to watch the monkey’s play; it amazed her at just how much they reminded her of human children. They teased and did the same things that she had done as a kid, including wrestle with each other.

*********

Tabitha finished fighting with the tent and dropped down into the sand with a bottle of water. “Well this cements it, you two don’t want me anywhere near you but that’s OK.” She took a long drink of water and picked up a stick. “I don’t need either one of you to survive on this godforsaken island, I’ve watched the Survivor series and I can do just fine all by myself!” She waved the stick at a bug, swung it around and smacked down at it. “God damn that hurt!” She screamed and rubbed her bruised toes.

“I can find my own food Sonji but that doesn’t mean that I won’t eat what you left for me.” She opened the bag and searched through it to find some granola bars and a package of Oreo cookies, before she could open either package, she felt her stomach roll and gurgle. “Damn green bananas!” She jumped up and ran to the bushes for the third time in the last hour. She held her aching stomach and dropped back down into the sand in front of the tent and moaned from the cramping, she hoped it was the green bananas she had eaten and not the water she had gulped down from the waterfalls.

Either or, she was sick as a dog and wished that she were at home where she could call her doctor to make a house call. “I would kill for some Pepto bismal.” She rolled to her side and moaned some more. “I hate you Sonji, I hope you get a strange tropical disease!” Using her stick, she tapped at her stained and ruined bikini that hung from the tent ropes. “There’s money wasted, I should have bought the black one piece, at least it wouldn’t look like a cleaning rag.”

**********

Sonji closed her eyes and moaned at the rich flavor of lobster meat dipped in real butter, she had lobster plenty of times but it had never tasted like this. She opened her eyes and watched Diablo use her hands to crush one of the large claws and then pull the thick white meat from inside. Her hands were amazing; at least those were her thoughts. They were long fingered but thick with muscle and calloused from digging in the dirt to recover artifacts. Where Tabitha had models hands, spindly and useless except to flutter around in blondish movements, the woman struggled opening a bottle of water or the everyday task. If her fingernails were not three inches long, she might actually be able to do something constructive besides slice open envelopes. She took another piece of the white meat, dipped it into the hot butter and bumped fingers with Diablo. “This tastes so much better than any I’ve ever had, why is that?”

“Because these guys are caught in a rich feeding ground, the ones that you get in the restaurants come from a lobster farm.” She grinned at the shocked expression on Sonji’s face and continued. “I know, you thought that they went out every morning and caught them from the ocean, some do but the larger places get them from farms.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure but I can’t guarantee it’ll be earth shattering or anything.”

“Your name means devil, why did your parents name you after him?” Diablo laughed and shook her head.

“Actually the word Diablo is Greek, Dia meaning through and Vallo meaning throw. The French and English travelers named this Japanese yo-yo a Diablo because you throw the things.” She saw the strange look that came over Sonji’s face. “Actually, my ma named me Diablo after Mt. Diablo in California; I was conceived at the base of it. Not as romantic as being named after the devil.”

“Or a yo-yo,” She snorted and went back to eating. “So where are your parents and what do they think of you living on this island?”

“Ma’s on her own island right now, she’s helping with the excavation of some ruins in Crete and my dad passed away five years ago while they were on a did in Athens.”

“You’re all archeologists?”

“Yep, shouldn’t be surprising. I was born in Egypt and have been on every single dig that my parents were on, it just seemed so natural for me to follow in their footsteps.” She forked meat from a lobster tail and placed it on the plate they were using. “For thirty years we worked together until I retired to live here, Ma’s more or less back home. She’s from a city called Volos; it’s one of two large cities in Thessaly. So, every couple of months she comes here for a visit, ya know to get away from the academic morons.”

“So you’re Greek that explains your dark tan. Pisses me off, I have to spend months getting a tan and most of the time I get burnt like a French fry.”

“Only part Greek, my dad was from Monterey. He met my mom when they were in college and that was the end of it for a surfer looking young archeologist student. What about you, now that you know almost everything about me?”

“Los Angles born and bred, my dad works for a lithograph company and mom’s a housewife. Ya know, the Tupperware parties, weekend BBQ’s with friends, recipe swapping with her lady friends and the queen of the gossip line. They still live in the very first house they ever bought, dad still drives the same truck he bought years ago and they refuse to take any money from me.” She winked at Diablo. “I did pay their house off for them and send them to the Virgin Islands for their 40th wedding anniversary. That cost me my very soul, I had to sell it to the devil to get them to go. I had to literally drag my dad to the airport and shove him on the plane, if that wasn’t a sight.”

“I’ve never known that kinda life,” She leaned back on the bench and smiled. “We were always in a foreign country, mom’s idea of normal, was cooking our meals on a camp stove and quizzing me on Minoan history. Dad always had his nose in his notes and mumbled to himself.”

Sonji leaned back on the bench and rubbed her stomach, she looked to Diablo with twinkling sea green eyes and smiled widely. “I bet your life was more exciting than mine, I’ve never been out of the US and would love to go to Greece or Egypt.”

Diablo felt her heart flip from Sonji’s smile, it was warm and caring, so unlike some of the people she had met in the past. She wiped at the dampness on her forehead and tilted her head at an angle. “So what’s stopping ya, you could have been riding a camel at the base of the pyramids instead of sitting here with an old tomb robber?”

“Tabitha didn’t want any part of that idea, I had to beg her to come to Hawaii and that cost me a small fortune. Money doesn’t matter to me but I would have at least gotten a thank you out of it. I get letters from little kids thanking me for the computers their school was able to buy with the money I gave them. Homeless people shake my hand when I visit the shelters I give to but my lover doesn’t say jack shit to me.” She looked down at the table and shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe I should have brought a homeless person on vacation with me?”

“I think this is your fate, now you’re free of her and once you go back, you can enjoy life without a stuck-up Barbie doll hanging onto your wallet.”

“It’ll be different, I’m just glad that I never moved in with her or vice versa.”

“You’ll be OK, you’ll find someone that’s more laid back and doesn’t see you for how many bank accounts you have. That’s one thing I never worried about, everyone thinks us tomb raiders are dirt poor.” She got up from the bench across from Sonji and collected their dirty dishes.

“Ohh Hell where’s my manners, I’ll help you clean up and do the dishes.” She got up, grabbed the rest of the dishes and followed Diablo into the hut. They stood side by side at the sink, Diablo washed while Sonji dried. She had tried to bully her way into washing but lost after Diablo pointed out that she couldn’t get her injured fingers wet. She gave up and decided to pepper her tall friend with more questions. “You know all about my personal life, what about you, anybody miss you since you came here to live?”

“Not unless you count my ma,” She grinned and handed her another plate. “I’ve done my share of dating but never found anyone who wanted to stick around and travel from one country to the next. It was all exciting for them at first and then it hit them that at times we would have to live in a tent and take showers by having a bucket of cold water poured on us.”

“I would think that men would find that rustic type life exciting and if they cared about you they would go where ever you went.” Diablo chuckled and gave her a crooked smile.

“Maybe that’s where I screwed up, I was chasing women and it should have been men.” She grabbed the plate that slipped from Sonji’s hands and placed it on the counter. “What, did you think you’re the only one?”

“Well no but I just assumed…and made a complete ass of myself.” She wiped her face and looked up into bright blue eyes. “I’ll admit, I thought you were straight. My gaydar must be really outta whack; I’ll blame that on Tabitha.”

“Don’t worry about it; I don’t exactly put out any kind of vibes as to what side of the fence I’m on.” She pulled the strainer on the sink, dried her hands and reached up into the cabinet for a bottle of 25-year-old brandy. “Do you drink, I have this brandy and it’s the best I’ve ever had?”

“On occasion but I’ll warn ya, I’m a light weight.”

“That’s OK, I’m the same way. This bottle has traveled with me for more years than I can think.” She grabbed two glasses and headed over to her couch. “Have a seat and relax, after all that food, I tired as Hell.” She dropped down onto her couch with a groan, poured their drinks and sighed when Thelma crawled on top of her head. “Where’s your sister?”

“I have her right here,” Sonji held up her hand to show Louise wrapped around her finger. “They’re cute little things; I always thought monkeys were dirty.”

“It depends on how they’re raised, my kids are luckier than most.” She looked up to see little green eyes staring down at her. “They have the run of the whole island and my undivided attention when ever they want it. Most human kids don’t have that or get music lessons.” She grinned when Sonji looked over at her.

“You’re kidding right; you didn’t get Beethoven lessons did you?”

“No but ma got me lessons and Beethoven was right there with me, what pisses ma off is that I suck and my monkey doesn’t.”

***********

John packed up the boxes of stuff he had for Diablo, he decided to make an early trip to her island after he got a letter for her from her ma. She usually got a letter from her two or three times a month, but this one was larger than most and it had ‘Do not BEND!’ written across the front. He knew that she had sent her pictures of her latest find in Crete and would be waiting for a return letter.

“Ohh you’ll love this one Diablo, maybe ma sent some pics from the nude beach?” He placed the envelope right on top of the last box and put it in his berth. He went top side and looked in all directions to make sure that he wasn’t about to ship out in to an incoming storm front. He had been sailing for his entire life but the sea was not one to take and give back at the same time. She was a fickle entity, what she left alone in the past; she may take in the future. He checked the radar and turned his radio up to catch any late breaking weather announcements. “OK Neptune, let’s go see the devil. She had better be happy that I like her and taking time out of my chick chasing to bring her ma’s letter.”

He fired up his engines, backed out of the docks and then turned out into the open sea. He set course, then took a seat next to the wheel, looking out towards where Diablo’s Island was, he leaned back, and let the wind blow through his long black hair. “Ohh looky there,” He got up and looked starboard side at the yacht floating aimlessly; he hit his horn and then yelled out to the yacht. When no one answered, he pulled alongside and tied off. “Hello anyone aboard?” He jumped over and then did a quick search, when he found no one on board, he dropped anchor and used its radio to call harbor patrol.

*********

“OK now that’s a fire!” Tabitha said and then dropped down into the chair she had made earlier by digging the sand out. “Now I’m all set for the night, I have my water and a nice thick hamburger warming up over the fire and clean clothes on my dirty body.” She flipped the hamburger over on the green branches across the fire and sat back to wait. She had walked through the brush earlier that day and spied on her now ex-lover and Diablo. It took every once of will she had to not go charging in and steal the food right from under their noses. She kept mentally kicking herself in the ass every few minutes for causing so many problems that left her out in the cold, so to speak.

“It could have been me eating lobster and getting monkey woman’s body all sweaty at night. Damn Sonji brings out the worst in me and it is all her fault!” She rubbed her hands together and cackled like a hyena. “I could still get into her bed and shove Sonji out of the picture until my savior arrives. Sonji doesn’t have the balls to make the first move, I can and that’s what I’ll do tonight.” She grabbed her hamburger off the sticks and placed it on the now stale bun. “Sonji will be sleeping out here on the beach and I’ll be in the hut with monkey woman. I’ll fuck her a few times and be living high off the hog!” After wolfing down her meal, she finger combed her hair and headed off towards Diablo’s hut. She figured that she had maybe an hour until it got dark and then she would make her move.

*******

Sonji leaned back into the couch cushions, placed her feet on the coffee table and closed her eyes. It had been a long time since she had felt so relaxed and been able to talk to someone without being criticized over every little thing. She opened her eyes and looked over to Diablo and felt her blood run like lava, the setting sun kissed her skin with a golden cast. Her blue eyes had chips of gold floating in them and her lips were wet with the brandy she had just sipped. She had never seen a more beautiful woman in her life, if she had one wish; it would to be to get to know the mysterious doctor better. Slowly, she turned so that she was facing Diablo and rested her head on the back of the couch. When a dark head turned and blue eyes trapped hers, she felt her breath catch in her chest and her throat grow dry.

“I’m turning in, too much brandy for one night.” She brought a hand over and squeezed Sonji’s thigh. “Goodnight Sonji.” She rose off the couch in one fluid motion and then stumbled to her bedroom.

“Goodnight Diablo and thank you.” She sighed and then stretched out across the couch. “I could fall for you so easily; you’re everything I ever wanted in a friend.” She rolled over and hugged her pillow to her chest before drifting off to sleep.

Diablo looked inside the baby crib and smiled; her monkeys lay draped across each other and sound asleep. She looked over to her bed and saw Thelma and Louise stretched out across her pillow and holding onto each other’s little hands. She knew that none of them slept the way they were supposed to and had caught a ration of shit from primate experts for ruining their primitive ways. She could care less. If they didn’t want to sleep sitting on their haunches then they didn’t, they were her hairy little humans and she let them do as they pleased. She shed her clothes, moved Thelma and Louise over and lay down. With in a few minutes, she was sound asleep and dreaming of sea green eyes and the lilting laughter of her small friend.

*******

Tabitha saw the lights go out in the hut; she stepped carefully towards the front door and waited. When she heard no sounds except for the light snore of Sonji, she opened the door and crept in. She waited until her eyes adjusted to the darkness and made her way towards where she thought Diablo’s room was. Front the moonlight, she could see Diablo stretched out across her bed and felt her pulse race. “All mine and you will never have any better than me.” She shed out of her clothes, dropped them to the floor and then crawled on top of Diablo.

Before she could even lean down, something jumped on her head and pulled her hair. She let out a scream that had Sonji falling off the couch in the living room and Diablo jumping straight up in bed. They smacked foreheads together and Tabitha screamed even louder. Sonji came running into the bedroom and ducked when a golden body flew from the crib and landed on top of a squirming Tabitha. The noise from the monkeys was enough to pierce eardrums, add in Tabitha’s wail and it was down right deafening.

“Get off of me you crazy ass bitch!” Diablo yelled and then flung Tabitha on the floor. “What the Hell do you think you’re doing coming in here and attacking me!?”

“Attacking you, you want me and you know it!” Tabitha yelled back and jumped when Beethoven bit her leg.

“I don’t know what gave you that idea but I want you out of here, that’s what I want!” She got up off her bed, towered over the other woman and growled. “Get out before I go postal, rip you into tiny pieces and feed you to my kids!”

Sonji moved into her ex-lover’s personal space and tapped her on her bony chest. “You heard her Tabitha, move your ass before I rip you into tiny pieces!”

“You’re both insane and so are those diseased monkeys!” She spun to face Diablo and pointed a finger at her. “I’m suing you, your animal bit me. I’ll take you for everything you have and this island as well!” She grabbed up her clothes and hobbled out of the hut.

Diablo dropped down onto her bed and rested her face in her hands. “What the fuck?” She felt Thelma and Louise drop from the ceiling down onto her head and her other three monkeys crawl on the bed with her. “What in the Hell did she think she was doing?” Sonji sat down beside her, placed a hand on her arm and spoke in a deep whisper.

“She probably thought she could come in here and have her way with you, get me thrown out on the beach and be living it up until John got here.”

“Does she think that I would actually do that, that I have no morals and that she’s so desirable that I would fall at her feet?”

“She thinks so and she knows that I would never make the first move where another woman was concerned, so she knew that I wouldn’t be in bed with you. She knows me well and I’ve paid for it in the past.”

“What do you mean paid for it?”

“She cheated on me and I didn’t do anything about it,” She dropped her hand and covered her face. “She slept around when she thought she could get something out of it, one of the men came to me because he felt bad.”

“Ohh for the love of Goddesss Sonji, if you ever go back to her, I will hunt you down and kick your ass,” She wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into her side. “That woman is completely nuts and you deserve better, let’s get some sleep and we’ll talk about this in the morning.”

“OK, I just can’t believe some of the things she tries to pull. I’m sorry about all of this; if you want me to go I’ll leave.”

“This isn’t your fault; you don’t have to go anywhere.” She placed a gentle kiss on the side of Sonji’s head and gave her a gentle hug. Sonji wrapped an arm around her and rested her cheek on her shoulder.

“I feel like all I’ve done is cause you trouble in the last few days, I bet you’ll be happy once we’re gone?”

“To be honest, no I won’t.” She rested her head against Sonji’s and closed her eyes, for the first time in years; she enjoyed having someone around other than John. “Are you a good pen pal?”

“The best, to bad you don’t have a computer, we could e-mail each other.”

“Ohh I have one of those, I’m not completely cut off from the world ya know.”

*********

“That worked out well!” Tabitha growled and dropped down on the foam pad inside the small tent. “Those damn monkeys ruined everything; I could have been sleeping in her hut if they hadn’t interrupted me!” She kicked her feet into the pad and slapped her hands down at her sides in a temper tantrum. “Damn Sonji didn’t help any either if she hadn’t come in I could have gotten my way!” She jumped up, hit her head on the metal support of the tent and whimpered.

“I can still get in that hut, I just have to convince monkey woman that I can give her a good time. She won’t be straight after I get done with her!” She stomped out of the tent and walked down the beach towards the waterfalls. “Everyone wants me, that has been proven numerous times by both sexes!” She jumped up and down, cussed and kicked sand everywhere. “Sonji’s a cold fish in bed!” She cussed the entire way to the waterfalls, tripped over a tree root and fell face first into the cold water.

*******

John dropped anchor a short way from the beach, he looked out and saw the glow of a fire and shook his head. “That damn woman must have ESP or something; she built a damn fire to bring me in.” He tossed his rubber boat over the side, dove into the water and then climbed inside. A few minutes later, he was dragging the boat onto the beach and looking around at the small campsite. “What the Hell is she doing?” He looked around some more and then felt the ground when he was knocked sideways, he gasped and then felt a body wrap around him. “What the Hell Diablo?”

“Ohh thank who ever that you’re here!” Tabitha screamed in his ear and kissed the entire side of his face and his neck. “I’m saved and I can go home now!” She continued to kiss John and grope his body. “I’ll give you a blow job if we can leave right now.”

“Who are you?” He pushed her hands away and tried to break free of her thin legs wrapped around his.

“I’m a stranded woman who’s in desperate need of rescuing, please; I’ll give you two blow jobs.” She fumbled with the front of his cut off jeans and finally got them unfastened even with his fingers trying to pry her hands away. “I’ll give you one right now and another one once we’re on your boat.”

“Are you nuts or something?” He squirmed away from her, got to his feet and fell when his shorts tangled around his ankles. “Get away from me; I didn’t come here to rescue anyone!”

“Please John; I’ll do anything if we can just leave. I’ll pay you; give you hours of animal sex…anything!” She grabbed him by his ankles and pulled herself up his body. “Diablo said you would take me to Oahu when you got here!” She grabbed his privates and massaged him until he groaned and fell back into the sand. “You have huge nuts John.” She whispered and bit his chest.

“We can’t do this… I have to…Ohhh Hell woman!” All the fight went out of him as well as thoughts of why he was there.

***********

Diablo placed breakfast in a plastic container closed it and then filled a thermos up with coffee. She looked to the couch and saw that Sonji was still asleep and that Gibbon was sleeping beside her. Grabbing the container and thermos, she headed out the door and felt one of her monkeys jumped down onto her shoulder. “OK Jimmy, you can go with me but don’t go near the crazy woman.

She might bite you and then I’ll have to give you a shot and I know how much you enjoy those.” She walked down the path slowly and thought of what had happened the night before, she couldn’t believe that she was taking Tabitha breakfast but good manners just didn’t go away over night. She sighed and picked up the pace until she came to where she would step out onto the beach. She froze after the first step and closed her eyes; she blinked a few times and then looked again. “God damn son of a bitch.” She whispered and turned to go back to her hut, what she wasn’t expecting was for Sonji to be a few steps behind her. “She’s still sleeping…I’ll bring this down…much later.”

Sonji saw how Diablo avoided eye contact with her; she pushed past her and felt her mouth drop open from what she saw. “That rotten god damn slut!” She was about to storm the campsite when she felt an arm wrap around her chest from behind, she looked to where Tabitha still had her hand wrapped around John’s dick and her face resting on his lower stomach.

“Come on Sonji, she’s not worth it and she’s the one who has to live with everything she’s done.”

“I am the stupidest damn person in the world,” She turned to look up at Diablo and felt tears fill her eyes. “I’ve been so intentionally blind,” She brought her hands up to her face and cried for what she had closed her eyes to. “I knew she had cheated on me numerous times but I figured if I never saw it, then it didn’t matter.” She removed her hands and dropped her chin to her chest. “It’s like having ice-cold water poured over your head when you’re sleeping.” She fell into Diablo’s body and felt tears pour down her face. “I don’t know why it bother’s me, I don’t even love her.” Diablo placed the container and thermos on the ground and wrapped her arms around Sonji.

“It’s because she betrayed everything that a relationship stands for,” She tilted Sonji’s face up to her and wiped her tears away. “She’ll get hers, she just happens to be with the biggest pig I know and that’s saying a lot because I know a lot of men.” She gave her a smile and pulled her into her body for a tight hug, she dropped her head down to rest on top of Sonji’s and picked up the scent of her own shampoo and a scent that was Sonji. She took a deep breath and pulled back from the smaller woman. “Everything happens for a reason, fate jumps in when it wants and takes over. That’s what’s happening right now, you were given this chance to see the real Tabitha, break away and make a new start.” She lowered her head and kissed Sonji lightly, when she brought her head up she saw flames spark in sea green eyes.

“Changes on the winds of Diablo.” Sonji whispered and pulled her dark head down to her, she brought their lips together in an exploring kiss that left them weak in the knees and breathless. She pulled back when a small hairy finger slipped into her ear and a rough tongue licked her face.

“I forgot to tell you, my kids are perverts.” She whispered in a deep voice.

“That’s OK ‘cuz so am I.” She pulled Diablo back down and kissed her for all she was worth, without breaking their kiss, Diablo picked her up and started walking blindly back to her hut.

******

John’s green eyes blinked open to see a hairy golden face and bright eyes with in inches of his own; he groaned and then realized that the strange woman still had a hold of him. He scooted backwards away from her and watched her face fall into the sand, grabbing his shorts; he yanked them up and then stumbled to his feet. “Ohh Gibbon, is Diablo gonna be pissed when she finds out.” He mumbled and then took off at a jog towards the path that led to her hut. “I hope she can hide me from that crazy woman,” He grabbed his groin and whimpered. “I think she broke it!” He came to a sliding stop when he saw Diablo standing near the front door with a small blonde wrapped in her arms.

*******

“Don’t take this the wrong way Sonji, I would love to take you to my bed but it has to be because you want me not because you need to…”

Sonji dropped her head onto Diablo’s chest and sighed. “I understand what you’re saying,” She looked up into pale blue eyes and felt her breath catch. “I’m very attracted to you but a part of me wants to hurt Tabitha,” She groaned and slapped a hand over her eyes. “I’m acting like I care how she feels, I need my brain examined.”

“No you don’t, there’s nothing wrong with your brain. Just listen to your heart.” She gave her a gentle kiss and then turned when she heard footsteps close behind her. “I should drop kick your ass all the way back to Oahu.”

“Ohh Hell you saw didn’t you?” John said and dropped his dark head. She jumped me on the beach last night and then one thing led to another and well…” He held up his hands and then looked into fiery green eyes. “Sorry if I interrupted you guys, I didn’t know…”

Diablo turned and waved a hand at him. “John Fox, this is Sonji Anderson and the crazy woman is Tabitha…” She looked to Sonji.

“Parson, Tabitha Parson.” She stuck her hand out to John and offered him a small smile. “I’m sorry; she’s…an insane, cheating, manipulative slut!” She ground her teeth together and was close to going off on a screaming rampage when Diablo pulled her back into her arms.

“She’s not your problem any more.” She whispered in her ear and hugged her tighter. “Let’s go inside and have some coffee and I’ll make us some breakfast.” She looked to John and nodded her head for him to go in before them. “Take a deep breath, every things gonna be fine. John’s in her sights now and she’s in for a world tipping experience.” She watched an eyebrow rise over a green eye and smiled. “It’s strictly from his tales; I’ve never been that desperate to sleep with a man. Especially one who doesn’t care if his date has any teeth or has gotten her social security check yet.” Sonji chuckled and gave Diablo a tight hug before releasing her to go inside. John stood a few feet inside the door; he blushed and held out a hand to her.

“I had no idea that she…if I had known that Tabitha…”

“John, we are no longer together so don’t worry about it.” She stepped into the bright white kitchen and started to make a pot of coffee for them, she looked over her shoulder to see Diablo wiggling a finger at John.

“Listen here little man, hands off Sonji; I don’t care what you do to Tabitha.”

He raised a jet-black eyebrow over a right eye and smirked. “Do I hear the great tomb raider Diablo staking claim to a new treasure?” He crossed his arms over a wide chest and held eyes with her.

“No, she’s my friend and she’s been hurt enough in the last couple of days to last a life time and by the way you’re limping you’re not faring any better.”

“Ohh you would not believe how I hurt, that woman just about ripped my dick off!” He whispered in a pain-filled voice. “Even my nuts hurt!”

“I bet they’re the size of melons and why did you let her anyway?”

“Raisins is more like it, I think she sucked my prostrate out. Anyway, I had no choice, I tried to get away but once she grabbed me, there was no way I could get loose without loosing something.” From the expression on his friends face, he knew that she didn’t believe a word he said. “Diablo, you know me and my using ways, this is different! If some woman grabbed a hold of your clit with her teeth and bit down hard enough to bring tears to your eyes, would you struggle to get away? I have teeth marks on my dick for god sakes.” He groaned when she grinned and started to laugh.

“It’s not funny; do you have any peroxide and Neosporin?” He sighed when she nodded her head and pointed to the bathroom. “Thanks, I hope it doesn’t fall off.” She turned to see that Sonji was leaning back against the kitchen counter and staring at the tiled floor; she approached her and instantly had her arms full.

“It’ll be OK Sonji, John will take you two back to the Island and then you can fly home separately. Move, change the locks, get a guard dog or what ever it takes to get the message through psycho’s head that it’s over.”

“Ohh she got the message last night when she came in here,” She rested her head on Diablo’s shoulder and continued in a quiet voice. “I heard some of what John said, is he hurt bad?”

“Nothing that will keep him from chasing women, I’m just glad that it wasn’t me she bit. I may not use those parts but I’d like them to stay undamaged.”

“She can be down right vicious at times and since we left LA, she hasn’t had sex. So she’s really dangerous now, maybe John should hide? It’s one of the reasons I went below and hid in one of the berths, we haven’t had sex in five months and I was not about to become one of her victims.”

“Was this vacation a thing to try and work out problems between you two?”

“Uuhhmm yeah, stupid me once again. I thought we could work it out; I haven’t the slightest idea why since I can’t stand her guts. I guess that I didn’t want to be alone and even as bad as she is, I would still have someone to go out to dinner with or a movie.”

“A dog or cat would have been cheaper on your wallet and at least they’re faithful.” She led her over to the table, pushed her down into a chair and went over the refrigerator. “I’ve got some steaks we can have with eggs, left over melon and some oranges if you want orange juice?”

“What ever you cook I’ll eat.”

“That reminds me,” John said as he sat gingerly in a chair across from Sonji. “I have your supplies on my boat and a big envelope from your ma; I would have brought them over last night but…” He looked to Sonji and dropped his eyes to the table.

“John, you’re not the first man she’s been with and you won’t be the last. She cheated on me the entire three years that we were together; it’s not your fault.”

“Thanks Sonji, I still feel bad about it happening anyway. I’m not the playboy I want everyone to believe.” He looked to Diablo and saw her knowing grin. “If a man brags about his conquests then chances are, he’s been sitting at home with just his TV for company. I will admit that when I do get a woman to go out with me I act like a macho jackass but it’s what’s expected.” He shrugged his shoulders and gave Sonji a small grin. “I wish I could be more like Diablo, she treated all her dates like they were the Queen of Egypt.”

“Yeah and then they found out that if they stayed with me, we would be staying in a tent in Egypt.”

“And if it wasn’t that, then it was sharing a hotel room with five monkeys. Two of which have to sleep with their ma, of course you already know this,” He chuckled at the expression of Sonji’s face and pointed to Thelma and Louise who were sitting on her shoulders. “Ohh come on, I can tell that you’ve been staying here in the hut with the devil.”

“How can you tell that in just the few minutes you’ve been here?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Easy, you made the coffee.”

*************

Tabitha lifted her face from the sand and looked around, she rolled to her knees and saw the scuff marks in the sand and then looked to where the rubber boat was still sitting on the beach. “I knew I wasn’t dreaming, so where did he go…damn it! He’s at the monkey woman’s hut,” She growled and got to her feet. “They’re probably having a threesome or something!” She stomped her foot, turned and lurched into the small tent.

“That’s OK, I have his rubber boat, I’ll just take it and go back to Oahu.” Stripping out of Diablo’s clothes, she pulled her stained bikini on, grabbed the rest of her water and then went out to the rubber boat. She flipped it over, put her water inside and then pushed it out into the incoming surf. After fighting with the oars, she finally stopped going in a circle and was able to get half way to John’s yacht. She stopped and took deep breathes and shook the numbness from her hands.

“My manicurist will have my hands in traction for months to repair the damage to my skin and nails.” She grabbed the oars again and rowed the rest of the way, she grabbed a hold of the overboard ladder and crawled up onto the deck. She looked around and found the door to the lower deck. “I hope he has lots of hot water because I’m not coming out of the shower until it’s all gone.” She jogged down the steps and went into a room that had to be John’s, the bulk head was covered with nude pin-ups and dirty clothes littered the floor. “Just like a man, they’re all pigs!” She pulled open a drawer, grabbed a t-shirt and then searched the other ones for shorts. Once she had everything she needed, she headed for his shower.

**********

Where the Hell is my rubber?” John looked up and down the beach and then out to the ocean.

“Here’s a better question, where’s psycho bitch?” Sonji asked and then picked up Diablo’s clothes from the ground. “Ohh god damn, I think she took your boat and is trying to get back to Oahu without you.” Diablo stepped up beside Sonji and took the clothes from her hand.

“Well guys, there’s only one thing to do and that’s swim out to the yacht and toss her over board.” She stripped out of her shirt and dropped her shorts to reveal electric blue Speedo trunks.

“You know I really hate when you go bare chested,” John groaned and rolled his eyes. “Ya just gotta tease me to death with your tits, two of the most beautiful women I know and you’re both dykes. Just ain’t right.” He jogged out and dove into the surf to surface a good ways out in the ocean.

“He’s not the only one to suffer from you doing that.” Sonji mumbled and ran out into the water.

“What, I can run around completely naked if I want, it’s my island.” She ran out, dove into the water, and came up beside Sonji. “Ya know I can’t swim?” Sonji looked over to her and stopped to tread water.

“Then what are you doing if not swimming?”

“Standing on the bottom.” She grinned and dropped beneath the water, Sonji started swimming and yelled when Diablo popped up beside her and dunked her under the water. “I swim faster underneath.” She went back under just as a blonde head was coming to the surface; Sonji looked around and then dove under. All she could see was Diablo’s feet and then her body arching through the water.

“She swims like a damn eel or a mermaid.” She followed and came up a few feet from John’s yacht, what she heard was her ex-lover’s voice screaming at then saw John fall backwards over the rail into the water. “Son of a bitchin psycho.” She said in a low mumble and then swam over to the ladder. Before she could get all the way up on the deck, she saw a dark head come up over the top of the cabs roof and then Diablo launching herself into Tabitha. Both women went over the side with one screaming bloody murder. Jogging across the deck, she looked over the side to see Diablo holding onto a splashing Tabitha by her hair. John stepped up beside her and grinned.

“Glad it’s not me that has a hold of her, I tried and now I think my left nut is gonna fall off.”

“She got you again, what with this time?”

“Those long ass nails she has, are they registered as lethal weapons?”

“No but they should be, what are we gonna do with her?”

“I could always drop her off on the yacht I found yesterday, oohh wait, that must be yours. The name on the side says Sully’s Dream.”

“Thank god it didn’t sink; I didn’t really want to own a sunken Yacht.” She reached over, grabbed Tabitha by her hand, and pulled her on board while John helped Diablo. “Can you take us out there after we get Diablo’s stuff on shore?”

“It didn’t sink?” Diablo asked after flipping her long hair over her back. “That’s good news, then you can sail it back to Oahu.” She felt her heart sink at the thought of Sonji leaving so soon, she had hoped that John would stay a few days and that way she would have more time with the smaller woman. She caught Tabitha raising her clawed hands over her head, she spun and placed a quick kick to her solar plexus and watched her drop to the deck. “Stay down or I’ll turn you into shark bait!”

“You can’t treat me like this; I’m…a very important person for BLOOMINGDALES!”

Sonji stepped closer and stomped on her foot. “Shut the fuck up Tabitha before I throw you over!” She gave John a quick look and then pinned Tabitha with fiery green eyes. “Do you have any rope to tie her up with?”

Diablo was sitting in a lawn chair on the top deck, the envelope from her ma on her lap; she placed the pictures on the small table to look at later. She was reading the letter when Sonji placed a beer in front of her and sat down beside her. “Does she write to you often?”

“About three times a month, she sent pictures of some relief’s they uncovered in a Minoan Temple on Crete. She handed her the letter and then picked up the pictures to look at. A minute or two later, she felt eyes burning into her down cast face and looked up. “Huh?”

“So Saba misses you and can’t wait to come for a visit, you said that you didn’t have anyone missing you?”

Diablo smiled and then busted up laughing at the rage boiling in green eyes. “Do I see a bit of jealousy there Sonji?” She searched through the pictures and hand her one. “That’s Saba and the only reason she misses me is because of my cooking.” Sonji took the picture and looked at an older version of Diablo; the woman had long dark hair shot through with silver. The eyes were the same as well as the smile, what got her attention was the monkey sitting on the older woman’s shoulder.

“Saba’s a monkey?”

“Yep, she’s Beethoven’s sister. I have better luck with female primates than I do with human females.” She shrugged her shoulders and handed the rest of the pictures to her. “This is the biggest find so far, everything they’ve found so far is split between the Archeological Museum in Heraklion, the Agios in Nickholaos and the museum in Rethimnon. Saba found coinage in the last letter, which had my ma going into seizures; she stole ma’s wallet from her tent and was throwing her money from the top of the temple they were excavating.”

“Are you sure you’re archeologists and not Zoo keepers?”

“Not much of a difference, you should see some of the people who work the sites.” She nodded a head at John. “There’s a prime example, right now, he’s studying pics ma sent him.”

“Diablo, that’s a foreign skin magazine.”

“I know, not much has changed since we used to work sites together. He couldn’t find any artifacts but he could find a titty bar in the middle of a jungle.”

********

They carried the last of the boxes into Diablo’s hut and placed them on the floor near the kitchen table. As an added bonus, John not only brought the parts for her radio, but a new cell phone and charging unit. “Hide the damn thing from your kids, like maybe inside that trunk you always keep locked.” He said and handed her a spare battery. “Ma said she’d call you tomorrow night at nine pm our time.”

“I guess ma called you and complained that she couldn’t get a hold of me by radio?”

“Of course she did, she wanted to make sure that you got her copy of the book you two are working on.” She raised a finger and walked over to a large envelope that sat on her worktable.

“Glad you said something,” She pulled a ten-dollar bill from inside her notebook and handed it and the envelope to John. “It’s all set for ma to write the next part, this would be easier if she would use the laptop I got her.”

“Ohh she uses it…for PC games.” He grinned, shoved the money in his pocket, and then looked to a pensive Sonji. “Are you ready to go check out your yacht, I didn’t see any damage when I was on it and I’ll take Tabitha down to one of the rooms and lock her in for ya?”

She nodded her head and looked to Diablo with teary eyes. “Yeah, could you give me a minute?”

“Sure, I’ll meet you on the beach when you’re ready.” He gave her and Diablo a smile and left.

Sonji wiped her eyes and gave Diablo a small shaky smile; she stepped up to her and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I’ll miss you; it’s been a long time since I’ve had someone to talk to who listens to what I’m saying.” She rested her head against Diablo’s bare chest and inhaled the soft scent of the sea and what was all Diablo. “I left my e-mail address and phone number on your dresser if you want to call or e-mail me.”

“I’ll e-mail you and send you my phone number as soon as I find out what it is and I’ll miss you to.” She leaned back from her, dropped her head and gave her a kiss that neither one of them would ever forget. When Sonji started to sink to the floor, she wrapped her arms tighter around her and broke the kiss. “I really wish we would’ve had more time together.”

“So do I, maybe I could come back and visit you?”

“Any time you want, I’m not going anywhere.” She kissed her once more and then led her out the door and down to where John was waiting. Diablo helped her climb into the rubber boat and pushed them off; she stood in the waves and waved at them until they were too far away to see. “I’ll be here Sonji.” She wiped tears from her face, picked Jimmy up and walked back to her hut with tears trailing down her cheeks.

“Figures, I fall for a woman who lives in California.” She dropped down on the end of the jungle gym slide and hugged Jimmy. “Guess that’s what I get for living on an island all by myself huh?” She kissed him on his head and let him cover his face with her long hair. “All right little man; let’s go get my PC running. Now I have someone to e-mail besides those idiots from the colleges.”

************

John turned his yacht towards where Sonji’s yacht was anchored and then turned to her. “Ya know you’re the first woman that Diablo’s ever had on her island besides her mama and that nut locked down in the hold. She won’t even go with me to Oahu to pick up supplies.”

“How long have you known her?” She looked into his eyes that were so much like her own.

“Ohh I think it’s been 16 years or so, I was one of her students when she was teaching at USC. When I graduated, I joined with her crew and worked with her until she retired.”

“She taught at the college, how old is she?”

“She’s 40, she graduated college when she was like 16 or 17, it helps when you have two geniuses for parents and your IQ is off the scale.”

“Yeah I guess it would help,” She shook her head at the information and looked out at the waves before continuing. “Then you just gave it all up when she retired?”

“Yep, she’s the only one besides her ma that I want to work with. We left the last site with not so nice words screamed back and forth, one of the head honchos OK’d one of the other professors to use a backhoe to excavate a buried city in Brazil because it would be faster. We went off the deep end and walked out, to say the least, we can’t get jobs digging graves now.”

“What do you do now that you’re not working sites?”

“I’m one of the charter fishing boats and when it gets slow, I take people out to see the whales. It pays the bills and I live on my boat so I don’t have rent or anything.” They turned to where the steps were to the lower deck and grinned at Tabitha’s screaming. “She’s really nuts isn’t she?”

“You could say that along with self absorbed, egotistical, manipulative, slutty and money hungry.” She smiled up at him and noticed that he looked a lot like Diablo with the exception of his green eyes. “You know, you could be Diablo’s brother?”

“Yeah but I’m much better looking.” He puffed out his tanned muscular chest and gave her a toothy smile. “She’s my best friend and I love her more than anyone in my family, I’d do anything for her or ma.” He pointed off to their left. “There’s your yacht, I’ll check it over and then follow you guys in. Ya know just in case it has damage that pops up halfway to Oahu.”

“Thanks I appreciate every thing that you’ve done and I’m glad that Diablo has you for a friend, I’ll still worry about her on her island but at least I know you’re here for her.”

He pulled up alongside the yacht, jumped down to the deck and tied off. He looked back to her and saw the tears forming in her eyes. “So what will you do once you get back in, are you flying home right away?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” She wiped her cheeks and gave him a small smile. “I have some vacation yet but I think I may fly back in the next day or two, besides meeting Diablo and you, this vacation has sucked big time.”

“Ohh after the experience I had last night I can only imagine.” He jumped aboard her yacht and then gave her a hand over. “Will you be OK with the psycho woman?”

“Ohh yeah, once she gets a few drinks in her, she’ll be prancing around here like the Queen of Sheba, pass out in a chair and I’ll have peace and quiet for the rest of the night.”

After getting a spitting, clawing psychotic Tabitha on board, John checked out the yacht’s engine and anything else that he could think of that could be damaged in a storm and then jumped back across to his own. He untied the ropes and waited for Sonji to get a distance in front of him before he powered up his engines.

On the way back to the island all he could think about was his friend and how she acted with the little blonde, in all the years he had known her, he had never seen her show any emotion when she parted with someone. This was a first and it would stay in his memories forever, he hoped that Sonji would come back and visit her and just maybe get her off the island for a day or two.

***********

Diablo sat out in front of her hut watching the sunset; it was the first time in years that she felt lonely. She wiped tears from her cheeks and sighed. “Well kids, I guess it’s just us until John comes back on his next run.” She ruffled Thelma’s hair and held out a grape for Louise.

“At least Sonji will be free of Tabitha and poor John won’t have to worry about being attacked. Maybe he’ll change his mannish ways and treat his next date better.” She chuckled knowing that her friend would never change his ways and would be like her, single forever. “Maybe he’ll be too sore to chase women for a day or two and the parents on the island won’t have to lock up their daughters at night.”

She looked over her shoulder when Gibbon crawled up the back of her chair; she held out Sonji’s t-shirt to her ma and chattered. “She’s gone back Gibbon,” She scratched her furry cheeks and took the t-shirt from her. “We have a phone now so we can talk to her and there’s always e-mail, I’ll read it to ya guys when she writes.” She hugged Gibbon when she curled up on her lap and played with the bottom of her shirt. “Yeah it’s getting late and I’m worn out, we’ll go to the site tomorrow and see if we can find anything ta write to granny about.” She stood up holding her three monkeys, whistled and watched the other two go running into the hut. As soon as she stepped into her hut, she felt her heart sink and more tears come to her eyes.

************

Sonji didn’t even wait for Tabitha to collect her things before she jumped off the yacht onto the dock and walked to the office to turn the keys in. She paid the rest of the rental fee, grabbed her bags and headed up the dock to where she could catch a bus to a hotel. She wanted to get as far away from her as she possible could without leaving the island. Once on a bus, she got off at the first place, went in, got a room and then made her way there. Opening the door, she dropped her bags and headed for the bathroom.

After spending the day in and out of the ocean, she felt gritty and a little sore. “How I wish this was Diablo’s bathroom and not some cleanser smelling place with sandpaper towels.” She shed her clothes, stepped into the shower and turned the water on. She didn’t care that it wasn’t hot yet, just the feeling of fresh water washing the sea salt from her body felt good. She grabbed the small bottle of complimentary shampoo, lathered her hair and then just stood there with the water pounding on her head washing away the soap and her tears.

“You’ve turned into a big cry baby in the last few days.” She got out of the shower, grabbed a towel and went into the other part of the room to drop down on the bed. “God how I miss you, it’s hard to believe after only a few days you’re all I can think about.” She got up and grabbed her laptop case, after hooking it up; she booted it and waited for her ISP to connect. After what seemed forever, she was able to check her e-mail. She deleted all the spam and read the ones from her job. Just as she was about to sign off, the little mailbox flag went up. She looked at the e-mail addy and smiled. “Only you would go by Devilsspawn.” She clicked on the e-mail and began to read.

Sonji,

I don’t know when you’ll check your e-mail but I thought I’d let you know that I miss you already. I hope psycho T. didn’t cause you any problems on the way back, that’s one person I hope I never see again. Anyway, me and the kids played around with the new cell phone and figured it out; it’s amazing how a monkey knows more techie stuff than a human. I think Jimmy called Japan, I know I’ll love the phone bill when I get it. Here’s the number, make sure you write it down somewhere, I’m famous for deleting e-mail that I need. 808-421-0032 I hope you see this soon, I’m turning in for the night.

Miss you
Diablo

“I miss you too Diablo,” She wiped tears from her eyes and wrote back to her.”

I miss you and the kids, I got back OK and I got a room at the Sea Shore Hotel. Would you believe that I practically ran so that Tabitha couldn’t follow me. I put the room under Gibbon Hawthorne, I knew if psycho bitch from Hell tried to find me, she’d never think that I’d put it under a monkey’s name. And being the evil person that I am, I left her on the yacht to carry her umpteen million suitcases, make-up cases and every other thing that wasn’t nailed or bolted down in her apartment that she brought along. I’m surprised that her shit alone didn’t sink the damn yacht! I’m gonna close for now and I’m so glad that you e-mailed me, it’s not the same as hearing your voice but I can live with that.

I miss you
Sonji

She signed off, shut her laptop down and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She looked into the mirror and saw bloodshot swollen eyes filled with unshed tears. “You’re a mess Sonji, in more ways then one, you fell for her in a few days.” She brushed her teeth and then used the phone to call reservations; she made it for the next morning for the earliest flight back to California. She just hoped that Tabitha wasn’t on the flight with her.

**********

Diablo looked around her hut from where she was working at her worktable, she heard a funny noise but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Then Jimmy let out a screech and came flying into her arms, she looked to where he had been on the couch and saw her cell phone jumping across the cushions. “Ohh I see what you’re afraid of, you were playing with the phone.” She carried him over and picked it up, hitting the on button she said hello.

“What took you so long?”

“Ma?”

“Who else would let the phone ring a couple hundred times until you came out of your coma?”

“Hey it’s been years since I had a phone and this little thing is a mystery.” She could wrap her hand around the thing and no one would know it was there. “How’s everything there in Crete?”

“It’s going good, we sent the relief’s off to Agios yesterday and Saba found me the most amazing gold necklace today. I keep telling them that I’m gonna put her on the payroll and toss all the useless men off.”
“Hell we knew that for years and no one would listen to us.” She chuckled and then laughed when her ma cussed someone out in Greek. “So you can still scare them with threats from Artemis?”

“Of course, I just go in when they’re sleeping and put little black hoof marks all over them, they think her stag stepped on them and then they hide from me the rest of the week. Dumbasses have the grace of a camel on ice, thank the Goddess I use a shit load of seltzer when I pack stuff. They dropped a wooden crate with vases in it off the back of the truck; I almost killed every single one of them!” She waited for her daughter to stop laughing and then turned the conversation over to something more serious. “So baby, who’s this little blond woman you’ve fallen for?”

Diablo closed her eyes and shivered, her ma always knew how to send shivers down her spine. “You scare the shit outta me when you do that.”

“Good, that’s part of being a ma, now who is she and when’s she coming back?”

She sighed and sunk back into the cushions. “Her names Sonji Anderson,” She said in a low whisper and felt tears fill her eyes. “She’s from LA and I don’t know when she’s coming back to visit me. I e-mailed her last night and she wrote back, she’s still on Oahu as far as I know.”

“Get your ass in gear, get John to take you to Oahu and go get her!”

“Maaaa, she has a life in LA, she’s an investment broker and she just can’t leave all of that to live on an island with an old archeologist.”

“How do you know if you don’t ask her? Diablo, you’ve been on your island for ten years, how many women have ended up there?”

“You’re freaking me out ma, how much do you know?”

“Enough that the fates dropped a woman on your island and you let her leave. Now open up your damn trunk, get your civilized clothes out and go after her.”

“So ya want me to kidnap her, drag her back here and live like the Robinsons?”

“If you show her what’s in your heart, you won’t have to kidnap her. Listen to your ma for once and go after what you want.”

“I’ll think about it,” She tilted her head to the side and then ran to the door; she couldn’t believe that the harbor patrol had the balls to hover a chopper over her hut. “Ma, there’s a chopper trying to blow my roof off!”

“Well see what they want, maybe they need directions.”

“Funny ma,” She saw a white cooler attached to a rope lowering not ten feet from where she stood, she jogged over, disconnected it and waved. Flipping the lid up, she pulled out a bag from McDonalds. “Ma ya won’t believe this, they just dropped off food from McDonalds…oh my Goddess, Sonji sent me what I told her I would kill for.” She opened the bag and saw a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a chocolate shake.

“What do you need next, a lightening bolt from Zeus?”

“OK ma, I got it. I’ll call you in a few days.”

“Just show her your heart and you won’t have ta worry about anything, and remember the Goddess is watching you.”

“Thanks ma, now I’ll be paranoid for the rest of the day.” She hung up listening to her ma laugh, she had noticed that with talking to her ma for just a little while, she went right back to their speech patterns. When younger, she had always gotten funny looks when she said ‘by the Gods, or for Goddess sakes.’ The other kids just couldn’t comprehend that with her Greek heritage came the belief of more than one God. She was often called a pagan or a witch but let it slide because all the kids were idiots and would learn about Greek Mythology some day. By then, she would be in college and could care less what anyone thought. That was a memorable day for her and her parents; she was a thirteen-year-old college freshman that had college credits all ready towards her graduation.

Carrying the bag inside, she dropped down at the kitchen table and took a deep breath of the food. It had been years since she had food like this but she could still remember the smells. “Gods do I love you Sonji.” She bit into the still hot hamburger and moaned deeply; no one had ever thought of doing anything like this for her, she now knew what she would have to do.

*********

Sonji smiled at the harbor patrol commander and handed him a bank draft, he looked at it and had to grab the counter to keep from falling down. “Ms. Anderson, all you had to pay for was the fuel for the chopper. Not a brand new chopper!” He tried to hand the check back but she stuffed her hands in her pockets.

“Nope that belongs to you guys; I couldn’t have gotten that food out to her without your help. Take that money and by a new chopper, boat or what ever else you need to do your job.”

He wiped his brow and looked at her with wide brown eyes, shaking his head; he put the check in his logbook and stuck a hand out to her. “We need another boat to patrol the east side; I’ll make sure that they put your name on the hull. Thank you and if you ever need anything you just call us.” She gave him a slight nod, smiled and left the office. Her next stop was to search out John and get some information from him; she had called and cancelled her reservations that morning. She had dreams the night before and was trying to make it a reality, one of which done. She wished that she could have seen Diablo’s face when the chopper brought her McDonald’s food. A wide grin came to her face just imagining the shocked expression; she looked out towards where all the boats were docked and saw John hanging off the side of the hull with a paintbrush. She jogged over and yelled out his name.

“Are you trying to see me fall head first in a bucket of paint?” He waved the bucket at her and grinned. “I thought you would have flown back to LA already.”

“I cancelled that out this morning, I had some thing’s I had to do first and needed and that’s where you come in.” He pulled himself back up the rope and was by her side in a split second.

“Me?” He gave her a rakish grin and yelped when she smacked him in the stomach. “I can hope and pray can’t I?”

“Sure and Hell will freeze over first, now where can I get a brand new yacht?”

His eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open at her request. “You’re kidding right…no you’re not, I see a familiar stubbornness that I usually see in pale blue eyes.” He sighed and rubbed a hand across a razor stubbled jaw. “The best place is where I got mine, Skinny won’t rip you off and he can set it up so that you can sail with just one person. What exactly will you be using this for?”

“I want one that can get me to Greece or any other place I want to go, I learned some stuff while sailing around here and I know there’s more up to date technological instruments that can be put in them.”

“That will cost you a small fortune, you know that don’t you?”

“Price is no concern, I’m filthy rich and it’s about time I spent it on something that I want. So will you help me?”

He did a little bow and then took her hand. “I just happen to be Skinny’s best friend; we’ll get you set up with a yacht that can practically sail its self.” He gave her a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow that reminded her of Diablo. “I can’t tell the devil about this can I?”

“If you do, I’ll kill you very slowly and have Tabitha help.”

**********

The days went by slowly for Diablo; she had tried numerous times to raise John on both his boat radio and his cell phone. She was beginning to worry when she couldn’t get a hold of him, it was so unlike him to not be on his boat. She wiped a dirty hand across her cheek, dropped the small worn paintbrush in her backpack, and looked at the pieces of pottery she had uncovered without the help of her kids. They were too busy teasing the birds and lizards that hung around the crumbling walls of the temple. Even Thelma and Louise had come with her that morning which was strange; they usually stayed around the hut and played.

She looked down at them where they hid inside one of the outside pockets of her backpack and shook her head. “What’s up with you guys is there bad weather coming or do you know that I want to go see Sonji in LA?” When all she got from them were their wide-eyed stares, she stuck her tongue out and started to pack up her stuff. “It’s not like I’m not coming back and if I can get a hold of John, he’ll be here for you to play with once he drops me off. Ohh come on, I haven’t left this island since I came here, what’s wrong with me going to see Sonji?” She stopped and dropped her head down into her hands; she was so mixed up that she didn’t know what to do anymore. Her head said one thing and her heart said something completely different. She looked up to the sky, threw her arms up and yelled. “What am I supposed to do?”

*******

A few days later, looking like something that crawled out from under a slimy rock and then hit by a train a weary bloodshot-eyed Sonji pushed open the door to her lawyers office. She dropped her bags on the floor and fell into the leather chair across from his desk.

“Jesus Sonji, what the Hell happened to you?” The older white haired man handed her a glass of water and pushed his half glasses up over his bushy eyebrows.

“It’s called jet lag and no sleep in I have no idea how many days.” She yawned and then sipped the water. “I need you to do something for me and before you say it, no I haven’t lost my mind. In fact I think I finally found it along with my soul,” She placed the glass on the desk, pulled a thick envelope from her pocket and dropped it on his blotter. “That is the deed for my house and paperwork for everything else of any value that I own. I want you to sell everything but the paintings, those are to be auctioned off and the proceeds from everything is to go to my charities and draw up a grant for the archeological team in Crete, the person it’s to be given to is Dr. Stesha Hawthorne. But before it’s made out, find out how much their last grant was for and triple it.”

He looked at her with wide eyes, blinked and used his hand to close his mouth. “You have lost your mind! You’re selling everything and putting up money for a grant for tomb raiders? Where are you going to live and why all of a sudden this humongous change?”

“I’m hoping that I’ll be spending some time on an island in the pacific and on the new yacht that’s being fitted for me. The money is going to the mother of the most important woman in my life.”

“But Tabitha’s mother doesn’t do anything but shop, what’s this got to do with Crete.”

“Not that psycho bitch, hopefully my future, Dr. Diablo Hawthorne.” She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. “Can you get the other Dr. Hawthorne set up with round trip tickets from Crete to Oahu and back sent to her for next week?”

“Sure, I’ll have Mrs. Davis take care of that and have her get a hold of a realtor for your house. Sonji, I don’t know what happened on your vacation but you’re not the same woman from two weeks ago.”

“Easy, I was tossed off the yacht with Tabitha into ice cold sea water. We ended up on what we thought was a deserted island only to find out that a hermit lived there with just the company of monkeys and other island creatures. In the few days that we were there, I saw that my life sucked. The woman I had been with for three years was crazier than I thought and that even if you’re on an island, you have the world.”

“You didn’t hit your head or anything did you?” She laughed and shook her head.

“No I didn’t hit my head, I lost my heart.” She pulled a magazine out of one of her bags and handed it to him; he looked at the cover and back up at her.

“This is the hermit,” He looked again at the picture of Diablo and whistled. “I’d sell everything and live on an island with her to; she can stop your heart with one look.”

“Don’t I know it,” She blushed and then cleared her throat. “I talked with her more in a few days than I did in three years with Tabitha, we spent hours just walking on the beach or just sitting by the ocean. She took me lobster trapping, cooked for me, gave me the clothes off her back and never asked for anything. She even saved my life the first day we were on the island and it was there that I realized that I hadn’t been living at all, just existing. I want to live Andrew.” He nodded his head and smiled, even exhausted and raggedy, he saw happiness in her tired eyes when she mentioned Diablo.

“How do I reach you when all of this is done?”

“You can e-mail me or call my cell phone, I’m gonna run by my house, grab the clothes and stuff I need and then head out to the airport.” She snapped her fingers. “I almost forgot, I’ll leave my car in long term parking, can you arrange to donate it to the VFW?”

“Consider it done and I wish you luck Sonji, it’s been years since I’ve seen you happy.”

“Thanks Andrew, for everything and I won’t fall off the face of the earth.” She shook his hand and headed out of his office.

************

Diablo smacked John in his shoulder as she climbed on board and kicked him in his ass. “I’ve been worried about you, where have you been for four days?” She leaned up against the rail and rung her hair out.

“I was helping Skinny get a yacht ready; we put some new radar stuff in it and a new satellite dish that can be used for cell phones and the internet.”

“Must be some rich asshole who wants to show it off to his groupie friends.”

“Don’t know about that, I do know that Skinny paid me good for helping him. So I could care less if the thing ever leaves the dock, so what’s with you wanting to go into Oahu and what’s in the bag?”

“I’m flying out to the main island and then to LAX, I was hoping that you would stay at my place and keep the kids company?” She saw his eyes light up and a wide smile show his perfect white teeth.

“You’re gonna do it, you’re going after Sonji?” She blushed and looked down at her feet.

“Yeah or I’m gonna try, I talked ta ma a couple times and she more or less told me I was stupid if I didn’t.” She shrugged her shoulders and picked up the waterproof bag she had brought with her. “If nothing happens, I won’t have any regrets.”

“Do you love her?” She looked out to sea and then back to John, she nodded her head and spoke with a rough voice.

“More than life its self, I can’t concentrate on anything, can’t sleep, my kids are acting all weird and I carry my cell phone everywhere hoping she’ll call.”

“OK, now the big question does she know or feel the same way?”

“I hope she does, I haven’t told her and I’m hoping she can feel or hear it in my voice.” John busted up laughing at her and slapped the yacht’s steering wheel.

“You are the biggest damn chicken I have ever known when it comes to women and emotions. With all the women you’ve been with and some of them in countries where if the natives would have found out you would have been buried up to your damn neck. You can’t tell Sonji that you’re in love with her?”

“I’m not a chicken; I have to be able to see her eyes when I tell her. I couldn’t do it over the phone or e-mail, that would be something a man would do. What makes you an expert on this stuff anyways?”

“Never said I was, I just know how you are is all.” He gave her a grin and pointed to the island on the horizon. “Better go get showered and changed, we’ll be in the docks in another half hour. And I’ll have you know that my boat is spic and span and that includes the shower.” She gave him a wide-eyed look, grabbed her bag and went below.
Part 2
Miss we’re at the gate and your other plane leaves in fifteen minutes.” The flight attendant told Sonji after shaking her shoulder to wake her.

“OK thanks, how far away is my next gate?” She stood up, stretched and grabbed her laptop bag.

“Once you’re out of the jet way, turn right and it’s the second gate down.”

“Thank you for everything.” She smiled and then jogged off the plane to go to her next gate. She looked at her dive watch and picked up the pace, she sighed with relief when she saw that there were half a dozen people waiting to be checked in for the puddle jumper over to Oahu. She had left the night before from LAX international, flown non-stop to Hawaii and was now on the last leg of her trip. She hoped that she hadn’t jumped the gun on her feelings and what she thought she had heard in Diablo’s voice.

The biggest thing she had done was fax her resignation to her job, they had tried to give her a promotion and more money to stay on, she told them to go to Hell that she was going to live life. She pulled her ticket out, looked down at her wrinkled khaki pants, sweat stained white button down, and sighed. It had been two days since she had showered or changed clothes and she was feeling like a dirt bag at that moment. Finally, she handed her ticket over and got on the small plane. “I hope I’m not making a mistake here.” She whispered to herself, stowed her bag and buckled the seatbelt across her lap.

*************

John kept looking over at his friend; it had been years since she had dressed in anything other than shorts and t-shirts. So the white pleated pants, starched white button down shirt and white Greek woven loafers were a shock. He really didn’t know if she knew how beautiful of a woman she was, the dark tan, long dark hair and silvery blue of her eyes turned every head. “Will you stop staring at me; you act like I’m walking around naked.”

“Naked doesn’t do it for me, you dressed like this does. I feel sorry for poor Sonji when she sees you, I hope you know CPR.” She gave him a crooked grin and a slap on his shoulder.

“I hope this does it for her, I’d hate to think that I starched and ironed all of this for nothin.” She checked her watch once more and growled.

“Ohh calm down, we’ve got twenty minutes before you fly out of here for the main island, and besides, you have to wait for the other passengers to get off first.”

“I can always run on and throw them out the door.”

“That would work and get you put in lock-up.” He waited for her to walk through the door and then grabbed her by the back of her belt. “Hold on there devil and stop fidgeting, you’ve got a lot of hours in a plane so calm down and relax.” She dropped her bag and ran her hands across her face.

“I can’t help it; it’s been ten years since I was on a plane or off my island. I’m worried about my kids and what’s gonna happen with Sonji. Not to mention that I spent all night on the internet searching for her company and address and I still don’t know if I can find it or not. And then what happens if I show up and she doesn’t want me?”

“Ohh calm down before I slug you, everything’s gonna work out just fine, I know these things. Ya gotta remember that ma taught me well.” He felt her jump beside him and then saw the plane pulling into the gate. “As soon as you get on there, slam a few drinks.”

“Ohh great, just what I want to do is get drunk and make trips back and forth between here and the main island.” He shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

“It was just an idea, here we go.” He moved to the side to let the passengers get past them. He had a clearer shot into the jet way door than Diablo had and what he saw in the back of the crowd had his heart pounding. He grabbed onto Diablo’s arm, squeezed and felt her kick him in his leg.

“What’s wrong with you John, I might need my arm later?”

“I can’t let you get on this plane, you can’t leave!”

“Ohh don’t tell me that the Goddess just whispered in your ear that it’s gonna crash or something.”

“Ohh nononono, that’s not it at all.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to his side. “Look towards the back of the passenger line, who do you see?” He grabbed Diablo to keep her from sinking to her knees, the next second; she was pushing her way through the last of the passengers to get to Sonji. “Ohh it’s love alright if she’ll throw people out of her way to get to Sonji.” He sighed and leaned up against the ticket counter.

Diablo stepped right in front of Sonji, looked down into her exhausted face, and felt her heart thump, green eyes looked up at her and just stared in an unfocused manner. “Sonji.” She whispered hoarsely and waited.

“I must be sleep walking, you’re not here.” She reached out a hand, touched a warm bronzed cheek, and burst into tears. “I missed you.” She fell into Diablo’s body and clung to her as if her life depended on it. Diablo swung her up in her arms, nodded to John and stepped out of the jet way.

“Would you get our bags and we’ll meet you in the claim area?”

“Sure, I’ll get one of those carts and meet you there.” He patted Sonji’s back and whispered in her ear. “I’m glad you’re back Sonji.” Diablo carried Sonji away from the crowd of people and lowered her to the floor; she brushed her hair back from her face and looked into her bloodshot eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise, what are you doing here?”

“I was going to fly to LA to see you; I’ve missed you so much that I couldn’t wait anymore.” She leaned down and kissed her deeply not caring that people were watching them. “Let’s get out of here, we’ll get a room for the night and go from there.”

“I already have a room but we’ll need a van to get all my bags.”

“Nah, John has his truck…wait a minute, how many did you bring?” She pulled back and saw the grin come over Sonji’s face.

“Six or seven, it’s everything I own. Let’s get out of here before I fall down and go to sleep.”

***********

Sonji sat in between John and Diablo, the second the truck moved, she fell asleep cuddled up against Diablo’s side. John looked over at his friend and gave her a wink and a bright smile. “It’s only just begun devil, it’s only just begun.”

“What are you talking about?” She then saw where they were headed and raised a dark eyebrow at him. “What are we doing at these docks, your yacht’s not here?”

“Mine isn’t but the one I was working on is.” He pulled down a narrow road and stopped beside a 62 foot Passage Maker long range cruising yacht. “So what do ya think of it, nice huh?”

“Huge is more like it, what’s something like that run?”

“Ohh a couple million I guess but this one has the works and we repainted it to that silvery blue. Wake up Sonji, I promised her when ever she came back that I’d introduce her to Skinny.” He knew he was lying through his teeth and would pay later when Diablo found out why they were really there. He climbed out of his truck, walked to the front and waited for Diablo and a sleepy Sonji. “OK girlfriend,” He dropped a large hand on Sonji’s shoulder. “I’m gonna go see Skinny and you can handle the rest.” He winked at Diablo and ran as if the hounds of Hell were after him.

“What’s his problem and what are you supposed to handle?” Sonji took her hand and walked towards the Passage Maker; she stopped at the front of it and pointed to the name written in cursive along the side of the hull.

“What do you think of the name?” She turned to watch the expression that was sure to cross Diablo’s face.

“Sonji’s Tomb Raider,” She looked from the yacht to Sonji and back before the meaning hit her. “That’s your yacht?”

“Yeah, what do ya think of it and the name?” She stepped in front of Diablo, pressed into the length of her body and wrapped her arms around her neck.

“Why the Tomb Raider, do you have a thing for Lara Croft or Angelina Jolie?”

“Because, and nope, more like an island Hermit. I came back to stay…with you if you’ll have me.” She searched Diablo’s face and eyes and saw sparks ignite in pale blue. “I’m in love with you Diablo and I bought the yacht so that we can go see your ma when ever we want.” She felt her knees go weak from the deep kiss that Diablo gave her and then felt her body lifted up and held. When the kiss broke, she was looking directly into silvery blue eyes the same shade of the yacht.

“I’m in love with you too and I was willing to beg and plead if I had to for you to come live with me.” She kissed her again tenderly. “I can’t believe you bought a yacht so that we can sail to Greece. Now I know why John ran off, he probably thought I was gonna go off the deep end and throw him off the dock.”

“I think it was so he wouldn’t have to watch us make out in public.” She whispered and brought their lips together in a consuming kiss that left Diablo staggering. “Let’s go on board so I can see what I paid for.”

“You bought something this big and you don’t know what’s on board?”

“Nope, I trusted John and Skinny.”

*******

John stood on the dock and watched Diablo back the yacht out; he knew something like this would happen he was just glad that he was able to drag his feet enough to keep Diablo from leaving for LA before Sonji got back. He would call ma and thank her for the heads up, it still freaked him out how she was able to know things before they happened. He didn’t have the same beliefs as she did but he was beginning to see the errors of his ways. “Well Stesha, you were right again.” He shook his head, waved to Diablo and walked back to Skinny’s office.

********

Diablo set their course for their island and then looked over to where Sonji had fallen asleep in a deck chair. They had only taken a quick glance around the lower deck and then returned topside to get their bags. As soon as Sonji sat down, she was asleep and snoring. She didn’t have the heart to wake her or carry her down to the captains berth. She wasn’t worried about her kids for the night since she had left them enough food until John would have gotten back to the island. So they would anchor outside the small cove and spend the night on the yacht.

Three hours later, she shut the engines down, dropped anchor and put the keys in her pocket. Stretching her back muscles out, she then left the pilothouse to wake Sonji. She dropped down onto the side of the chair and ran her fingers across a tanned cheek until green eyes fluttered open. “We’re home but I thought we’d stay on board tonight unless you want to take the runabout in.”

“Actually, I was hoping you would say that.” She took her larger hand and ran her fingertips across the calloused palm. “Would you make us something to eat while I take a shower, I feel nasty and it’s been two or three days in the same clothes?”

“Is there food on here?”

“Yep, I had Skinny stock it for us.” She smiled and kissed Diablo’s palm. “I was praying that I hadn’t read too much into everything.”

“Ohh no, you didn’t, believe me.” She gave her a soft kiss and then helped her up from the chair. “Go take a shower and I’ll have supper done by the time you get out and I put our bags in the captains berth.”

********

After they ate, they took a more detailed tour of the yacht and stopped in the captain’s berth so that Diablo could change into her normal clothes. What she wasn’t expecting were small hands stripping her out of them and pushing the other’s onto the floor.
“You don’t need any clothes, devil.” She pulled her head down, captured her lips in a kiss that sent their pulses racing and hearts pounding. She walked Diablo backwards until her legs hit the bed and then she fell back with Sonji on top of her. They kissed, fondled and striped Sonji out of her clothes to let them fall to the floor.

Soft moans and whimpers escaped their joined lips and then pulled away when lungs burned from lack of air. Diablo closed her eyes and arched her neck when wet lips sought out her pulse point. “I’ve dreamed of this,” Sonji whispered when she stopped at her ear and brushed long hair out of her way. “In my dream, I had you screaming.” She slipped her tongue into her lover’s ear and felt the vibration of her growl. Using the tips of her fingers, she traced sweat-dampened skin down to rose-colored nipples. Circling them, she licked and nipped at Diablo’s ear lobe. She thought nothing of it when Diablo arched her back until she found her self flipped over and pressed into the mattress.

“In my dream it was you who was screaming.” She took her lips in a deep kiss and explored every crevice that her tongue could reach. They dueled and pulled away to touch tongues and then kiss deeply again. Diablo trailed her calloused fingertips and palms from Sonji’s hands down her arms to her ribcage. Going up onto her knees, she cupped firm breasts in her palms and caressed hardened nipples with the pads of her thumbs.

“My dreams are nothing compared to this.” She whispered in a deep voice and then dropped her head down to suckle a nipple and blanket them with her hair. She moaned when her lover’s hips rose and pressed up into her wet nether lips in slow circling movements. She closed her eyes and continued to suckle until she felt fingers in her long hair that pulled her up to waiting lips.
Their kiss was deep but slow, their hands caressed and memorized with soft touches that sent them higher. Diablo moved so that she was laying between her lovers legs and covered her body to press their breasts together. She rolled her hips down into Sonji and nipped at her neck with her teeth, her back arched from blunt fingernails running down her spine. A low whimper came from her lips when Sonji grabbed her ass and pulled her tighter against her.

They ground together, mixing their essence until they reached the crest. Their bodies tightened like bowstrings just before they went over with screams of release. Diablo collapsed on top of her and continued to murmur in her ear with each spasm that traveled through her body. “Pros theon…Sonji, pros theon.”

She shuddered once more and then turned her head to capture moist lips with her own. In minutes they were moving back towards the pinnacle, Diablo crawled her way backwards until her lips were at trimmed dark curls. She nuzzled her face against a washboard stomach and then slipped her tongue inside her lover’s naval. A wide grin came to her face when Sonji cussed and tried to push up into her for more contact.

“Damn it! Don’t tease me.”

“Ohhh I’m not teasing…Carpe Diem.”

“Seize it already!” She thrust upwards and moaned when a warm wet tongue slipped between her nether lips. Diablo rolled her tongue around her center and drank of her offering, she growled against her center when she felt it twitch and then open to her.
She felt her lover thrashing against her and then one hand grabbing the back of her head to move her where she was needed. Sucking her swollen clit between her lips, she nipped lightly, felt Sonji jerk against her and then flicked it with the tip of her tongue.

The words that came from her lover’s mouth made no sense until she heard her name screamed as she bucked from her climax. Holding onto her, she slipped two fingers inside of her, curled them upward and stroked the pulse point she found there. Sonji’s thighs tightened and her hips thrust upward with another orgasm, she yelled out as juices pumped from her center.

Her body gave out and dropped into the mattress; she panted and searched for her lover. Finally finding her hand, she pulled her up to cover her quaking body. “I love you Diablo!” She buried her face in her lover’s neck and wrapped her arms around her.
“We’re not done yet devil.” She mumbled against her neck and then bit down into the corded muscles. Hours later, Diablo woke to find her lover sound asleep between her legs and using her lower stomach for a pillow.

She sat up and reached down to wipe her hair from her eyes; she snickered when Sonji swiped at her hand and went back to her snoring. Slipping out from under her, she headed for the bathroom. She washed her face and then looked at her self in the mirror, tilting her head to the side; she ran her fingertips over the dark purple bruise beneath her ear.

“That hurts like a bitch.” She left the bathroom and headed to the kitchen; she was starving and knew that when Sonji woke up, she would be able to eat half a cow. “?et’s see ??at ?e ?a?e ?e??” She rolled her eyes when she realized that she was speaking Greek.

Grabbing lunchmeat and other things from the refrigerator, she made three huge sandwiches, grabbed two cans of Coke and went back to the captain’s berth. She set everything down on the bedside table and lay down beside her lover. “??? a?e t?e µ?st ßea?t?f?? ??µa? ? ?a?e e?e? see?, ? ???e ??? ??t? a?? ?f µ? ?ea?t.”

“What did you just say?” Sonji asked and opened one eye to stare at her lover. Diablo leaned in and gave her a soft kiss.

“I said you’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and that I love you with all of my heart.” She rolled off the bed, grabbed the sandwiches and handed one to Sonji. “I woke up starving, must be from all the exercise.” She grinned and handed a Coke over.

“I hope you made more than two.”

“Ohh I did, I know how much you can eat.” She saw the wicked grin come over her lover’s face and moaned. “I wasn’t talking about eating ‘that’.”

“Maybe not but that’s what I was thinking,” She ran her hand up the inside of her lover’s thigh and left it there. “You’re gonna have to teach me some of those things you do with your tongue.”

Diablo choked on her sandwich and pounded herself on the chest. “Excuse me?” She raised an eyebrow when Sonji looked up to her with innocent eyes. “I was gonna ask you for lessons and a name for a good chiropractor, I’m gonna need one in the morning.”

“And Greek, I wanna learn how to speak Greek.”

“I think some of the stuff we did was Greek.” She finished her sandwich and Coke and lay back down beside Sonji. “Ancient or modern Greek?”

“There’s a difference?”

“Yep, I know both as well as some other languages.” She yawned and pulled a pillow under her head. “Ma knows more languages than me and at times she mixes them up so bad that no one knows what she’s saying.” Sonji grabbed the other sandwich and used Diablo for a backrest.

“I’m lucky I can speak English,” She snorted and fell back across her lover’s stomach. “I can talk valley girl, does that count as a language?”

“Only if you’re in the valley.” She placed a hand on her lover’s hip and drifted off to sleep.

“Poor devils worn out. Just wait until the morning, you’ll pray to your Gods to save you.” She finished her sandwich, turned out the light and snuggled up against Diablo’s body. Wrapping an arm around her waist, she rested her head on her wide shoulder and fell asleep just as the sun was peeking over the horizon.

**************

Diablo slipped to the deck from where she had been leaning back against the railing with Sonji kneeling in front of her, she ran a hand across her sweat-covered face and then pulled Sonji into her chest. In a voice hoarse from her screams, she groaned. “How many months has it been since you made love to someone?”

“Ohh that’s been years,” She kissed the valley between her lover’s breasts and then pressed her cheek to sweat-covered skin. “It’s been five months since I kinda had sex, why?” Diablo groaned again and dropped her head down to rest on top of Sonji’s

“Never mind, I’ll be dead by the end of the week.” Sonji snorted and pinched a nipple. “Wait a minute, what’s kinda sex?”

“Mine, I just gave up after that, bought an electric vibrator and made lots of excuses to stay away from her.” She looked up at the wreck that was her lover and smiled. She ran a finger across a dark circle below a bloodshot blue eye and down to where she had left bruises on her neck. “Your hairs a mess, you’re sweaty and have bruises all over you but I still think you’re a Goddess.”

“You need your eyes checked.” She gave her a deep kiss and rolled them over on the deck without breaking the kiss. She groaned when she heard her cell phone ringing and tried to ignore it. Sonji pulled away and reached out to her side to grab the phone, she slapped away Diablo’s hand and answered.

“Devils busy can I take a message?”

“Yeah, tell her to get her ass on the phone or I’m sending lightning bolts.” Sonji looked at the phone and then to her lover.

“Do you want lightning bolts?” Diablo took the phone and growled into it.

“?a ??? ?a?e t?e ???st t?µ??? ?? t?e ????d!”

“There’s nothing wrong with my timing and why are you speaking to me in Greek?”

“You ain’t cussing me out so forget it. And of course there’s nothing wrong, I just wanted to tell you that I got a check today to fund our work here. With the amount we got, we can stay here long past mine and your death!” Diablo looked to Sonji and raised an eyebrow.

“You got a grant check, it wouldn’t happen to have my lover’s name on it anywhere would it?”

“Ohh, so you finally broke the drought, can you walk?”

“Maaaa!” She felt her face heat up. “Does it or not?”

“Yep it sure does, so she came back and you didn’t have to get on that plane?”

“You’re scary ma and no, I didn’t have to fly anywhere,” She gave Sonji a quick kiss and continued. “She bought this huge yacht so we can come see you in Crete.”

“You let me know and I’ll be at the docks with a camera crew, I’ll have you leaving your island on film for posterity. Now go back to having wild monkey sex and I’ll talk to ya later.” She hung up before Diablo could say a word.

*********

Diablo peeked into one of the windows and groaned, she knew that she would come home to a mess but she didn’t think it would be this bad. “Hey baby, wanna pair of new shoes made out of monkey hide?”

“What did they do?” Sonji asked and went up on her tiptoes to peer through the window. “Geez, I never thought that monkeys could do that much damage in a day and a half.” She looked around and then up to her lover. “Where are they?”

“Probably hiding, don’t worry; they’ll come running when I start throwing their toys out the window.” She went around and opened the door to see her clothes thrown on every possible surface and every pot and pan on the floor. “Ya have to admit, they do a good job of ransacking. Maybe I should hire them out to do B&E’s; they could bring me back all the expensive stuff.”

“I have the feeling that they would bring you junk mail and very useless stuff like jockstraps.” She pulled a pair of Diablo’s boxer shorts down from where it hung off the corner of a kitchen cabinet. “I know that Thelma and Louise couldn’t possible throw stuff this high, what would they have done?”

Diablo laughed and took her hand. “You wanna see what two tiny little monkeys can do?” She pulled her into the bedroom and pointed to her dresser drawers. “Take a look and tell me what you see.” Sonji walked over to one of the drawers that was hanging open and looked inside, she turned to Diablo with a wicked grin on her face.

“Were they boy scouts?” She pulled a thin leather belt out and looked at the knots tied in it. “Or fishermen, considering that this knot is used for repairing fishing nets?” She heard a scuffle and pulled a bottom drawer out to find two little green monkeys hiding in one of her lover’s t-shirts. “You two are caught, might as well come on out of there.” Diablo leaned over her and nipped her shoulder.

“How about we chase them out of here?” She worked her way up to her neck and ran her tongue all the way up to her ear. “I can think of some sounds that you make that will have them in the tree tops in seconds.” Sonji tipped her head back and waited until blue eyes met hers.

“Me, I seem to remember someone else making all kinds of strange noises.”

***********

Dressed in nothing but what they were born in, Diablo and Sonji waded in the water in the small cove with spear in hand. Diablo pointed to a spot a few feet to her lover’s left and waited for her to raise her spear. “Take a deep breath, aim and throw. But remember that the water makes it appear where it’s not.” Sonji looked to her lover from the corner of her eye.

“If that’s the case, then I want a bigger spear.”

“Any bigger and ya could get a whale with it.” She hefted the heavy spear over her shoulder and watched for another fish.

“Can we take the yacht out and try deep sea fishing; I wanna try to get a Marlin or maybe a shark that I can ship to LA and have dumped in Tabitha’s swimming pool.” She grinned at the chuckles coming from her lover and then threw her spear. “Ohh yeeee haaa, we’re having sea weed and sand for supper!” She pulled her spear out of the sand and pulled the seaweed off. “Can’t we just defrost some Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks and pretend we caught it?”

“I happen to like the taste of Elmer’s glue,” She watched as Diablo’s spear flew through the air and wobbled where it struck. “It’s all in the sauce ya know, cover it with enough tartar sauce and ya don’t know you’re not eating real fish.”

“Well, I guess I’ll never find out about that.” She waved a fat fish in the air and tossed it up on the bank. “A dozen more of that size and I’ll be able ta eat.”

“Haa! Just wait until later,” She laughed like a maniac and saw Diablo shiver. “The kids taught me how to tie knots and I have lotsa rope.”

*********

Sonji lay on the couch reading one of Diablo’s archeology books with Gibbon feeding her grapes, if she knew that Gibbon was licking each one before she dropped them into her mouth, she didn’t say anything. Diablo sat at her worktable, her glasses sitting low on her straight nose as she scribbled in her notebook. She looked to the side and smiled when she saw what her monkey was doing; she turned back to her work and then heard one of their cell phones ringing. She got up, grabbed them off the table, and answered the one that vibrated in her hand.

“Yassou.”

“Is this where S. Anderson lives?”

“Yeah, this is Diablo. Can I help you?”

“Hey, this is Kalani at the post office. I have a big heavy box here for Sonji; you want me to give it to John?”

“Hold on and let me ask her,” She covered the phone and went over to her lover. “Kalani has a box for you; do you want her to give it ta John?” Sonji put the book down on her chest, tilted her head back and looked up at Diablo.

“Nah, tell her to hold on to it and we’ll be there in two days to pick it up.” She grinned at the shocked expression on her lover’s face and winked. “Just to do some shopping, we won’t stay over night or anything.”

“Kalani, we’ll be there in a few days so just hold onto it for us.” She crawled on top of Sonji and kissed the bare flesh that peeked out from where her shirt was unbuttoned. “You’re really gonna drag me to Oahu shopping?”

“Yep, I wanna get some jewelry for my mom and one of those nasty flowered shirts for my dad.” She closed her eyes and pulled her lover down closer into her body. “I never told them that I was moving here, so I have to call them and then use the gifts as peace offerings.”

“My lover a great big chicken, what are you afraid of?”

“No idea what’s so ever,” She chuckled and hugged Diablo tighter. “They’d be ecstatic if they knew I got rid of Tabitha the Terror of LA, I just don’t know how to tell them that I fell in love in a few days, quit my job, bought a yacht and I’m living on an island outside of Oahu.”

“Just tell ’em, it’s as simple as that. If they’re like my ma, they’ll be happy that you’re happy…you are aren’t you?” She lifted her head to search green eyes. “Sonji?”

“Happier than I have ever been in my entire life.” She brought their lips together in a tender kiss. “I love you tomb raider, even if your monkey licks grapes and then feeds ’em to me.” Diablo chuckled and dropped her head down on her lover’s shoulder.

“I didn’t know if you saw that or not.”

“Yep and you kissed me even after you knew what she was doing.”

“It’s only monkey slobber.” She kissed her again and then got up from the couch. “You haven’t even asked what’s in the shed; wanna see what I have hidden away?” Sonji put a hand out and was pulled up off the couch.

“I figured that you’d show me one of these days.”

*************

Sonji looked around all the shelves with boxes on them and then walked over to shelves that had artifacts lain out. She looked over to her lover with a raised brow and swept a hand over the items. “What are you gonna do with this stuff, wouldn’t a museum want the stuff?”

“Yeah and then they’d send idiots in here, take over my island and ruin it. I maybe selfish keeping it all to myself but the island is more important than some museum.” She shrugged her shoulders and then stepped beside her lover. “This stuff is important but not so much that it can’t be found on other islands. What I’m trying to figure out is what happened to the natives.” She told her about the pirates that were in the area and artifacts that had been sold or loaned to the museum on the mainland.

What they didn’t have were the coins that she had found here or some of the statues that she had found. “I don’t want to see a repeat of what happened on my last dig, you’ll find stuff on this island that you won’t on the others and that’s because we’re the only ones here. There’s foliage here that the natives haven’t seen in more than 60 years, birds and reptiles that died off because of buildings being put up in their homes.” She was getting to where her blood pressure was rising and the veins in her temples throbbed.

“Devil calm down, I don’t want to see that happened either. I understand why you’re keeping this a secret; I’d do the same thing if I were you.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. “What about all your notes and stuff, is it for a book?”

“Kinda, when I’m dead and gone and there’s no one else on this island, then it’ll go to the archeological department at USC. After that who cares what they do with the information.”

“So what’s the book you and your mom are working on?”

“Ohh that’s about what we found in the Gladiator ring in Athens years ago, we didn’t tell everything in the articles we sold to magazines. When the books published, copies will go to the colleges to teach the students.”

“How many books have you two written?”

“Ohh 40 or 50, I co-authored my first one when I was fourteen. I still get royalty checks for it, kinda strange after all these years.”

“What were you five when you graduated college?”

“No I was sixteen, the only graduate that couldn’t drive yet. You have to remember that I’ve been doing this all my life so I had a giant head start on other kids.”

“Not even close there, it was 190 when they tested me when I was twelve. Didn’t know that I come from parents with genus IQ’s did ya?”

“Nope and ya know you’re with a dummy don’t you?”

“Ohh sure you are, you’re a multi-millionaire because you’re dumb. Come on, I wanna go for a swim.”

The next two days were spent swimming, walking on the beach at sunset and making love wherever they stopped for more than five minutes. They would never see the jungle gym slide with the same eyes again and neither would the monkeys.

*******

“But I hate shopping!” Diablo whined and held onto the guardrail for dear life. “Those clerks think I’m a tourist and try to make me buy dumb stuff!” She held on tighter and braced her feet on the deck.

“You’re such a baby, come on I’ll protect you from the pushy clerks. Plus I need your muscles to carry that box from the post office.” She ran a hand up the inside of her lover’s thigh and cupped her sex. “I’ll let you do anything you want to later.” She squeezed gently and grinned when Diablo’s knees weakened and a low moan escaped her clenched teeth.

“OK, you drive a hard bargain.” She let go of the guardrail and stumbled after her lover. “Now I’ll walk funny all day.”

“You’ve been walking funny for days.” She glanced over her shoulder and smirked. “Who knew that you could get beach burns?”

“Next time we take a blanket with us and make sure there’s no lava rock under us.” She rubbed one side of her ass and flinched. “So how are we getting around the island?”

“We’re stealing John’s truck.” She reached back, took her lover’s hand in hers, and leaned against her side. “I need to go to the airport to; I have something coming in on one of the flights.”

*********

“By the Gods what’s in this box?” Diablo grunted when she lifted it up past her waist to get it in the back of the truck.

“Books, I ordered them on-line and had them sent here.”

“Books weigh this much?” She said and rubbed her lower back. “Feels like ya have part of the pyramids in there.” She rolled her eyes at Sonji’s wink and jogged to keep up with her. “OK, where to next?” Sonji looked at her watch and pointed towards the small airport.

“We have five minutes before the flight comes in, so that’ll give us time to get to arrivals.”

“Please tell me that it’s not another box or suitcases that weigh ten tons.”

“Nope,” She took Diablo’s hand and kissed her palm. “This is nothing like my box of books; you’ll like what I’m expecting. I had it shipped in and it’s rather small.”

“You’re not gonna tell me are you?”

“Nope, where would the fun be in that?”

Sonji led them over to the gate where the fight was arriving at and stepped to the side so that they would be out of the way of the passengers but still able to see. She checked her watch one more time and smiled when she heard the planes engines whining down as it approached the building. She tugged on Diablo’s hand when she felt her fidgeting and pulled her closer to her side. “You really hate airports don’t you?”

“No, it’s the rude ass people that fill them. They step all over you, run over your feet with their damn jumbo size suitcases, shove until you fall over and then walk on your back.”

“Now I could see that happening to me but you’re six feet tall and intimidating.”

“OK, so I’m the one who shoves people outta my way. They deserve it for stopping in front of me, now what are we waiting on?” She watched the inner door open and people start to disembark the small jet. “If it’s a package, wouldn’t it be down in baggage…oohh my Gods!” She stepped forward and pushed her way through the crowd. “Ma?”

“Yassou devil.” Diablo picked her ma up and carried her towards where Sonji was standing. She didn’t put her down until Stesha smacked her on her shoulder and threatened to beat her ass. “Are ya surprised?” She looked up into her daughters misty blue eyes and smiled. “I got tickets to come and visit along with the grant check.” She stepped up to Sonji and gave her a tight hug. “Thank you Sonji, it’s been years since I’ve seen my devil.” She kissed her on both cheeks and then hugged her again. “You’re good for my baby.”

“I hope so and I’m glad I could get you two together.” She looked up at her lover and smiled. Stesha turned and pulled her daughter down and kissed both her cheeks before putting her in a bear hug.

“You look good devil,” She whispered in her ear. “Love agrees with you.”

“Thanks Ma, I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Let’s see you say that after we go get Saba, she’s down in baggage claim. They didn’t believe me when I told them she was my kid, so she got stuck in the cargo pit.”

“You didn’t show them that picture of you pretending to breast feed her did you?” She knew the answer by the wiggling eyebrows over eyes identical to hers. “Geez ma, that’s gross.” She took her carry on, Sonji’s hand and wrapped her arm over her ma’s shoulders. “Let’s go get Saba and then we’ll go get some lunch, I’m starving.”

**********

They sat out on the porch of one of the restaurants, Sonji kept laughing when people would walk by and do a double take of the small monkey sitting in a high chair with a bib on. She also kept looking between mother and daughter and could swear that she was looking at twins. Even with the silver that ran through out Stesha’s hair, she still looked young. She shook her head and reached for another crab leg. “What’s the matter Sonji, don’t know which one of us is better looking?” Stesha asked and then barked out with laughter.

“I should have warned you about ma, she has a weird sense of humor.”

“And who was it that buried their old tennis shoes in Egypt for the college kids to find?”

“It was dad’s idea; he wanted to see if the idiots would say that the God Nike was worshiped there.”

“Ohh no it wasn’t, I know it was you because the map was in your scribbled hand writing.” Sonji looked back and forth between them and grinned, they were more like siblings that mother and daughter.

“Ohh shit!” Ma said and jumped up from the table. “I’ll check inside, you two look around out here.”

“Where would she go?” Sonji asked Diablo.

“Look for old women with really big purses.”

“Huh, what’s she want with them?”

“It’s not them; it’s what they have in their purses.” They started looking for women with huge purses, they were to the end of the dock when Sonji spotted a tail sticking out of an old women’s purse.

“Ohh my Gods, there she is. How are we gonna get her back?”

Diablo grabbed her hand and they took off running. “You distract her and I’ll get Saba.”

Distract her…how?”

“Act blonde.”

“Hey I am blonde…you just wait.” They slowed when they got behind the old couple; Sonji walked up beside them and touched the woman on her arm. “Excuse me, could you help me? I lost my…mon…mom; she’s about my height…black and white hair,” She kept glancing at her lover and urging her mentally to hurry up and get Saba. “Makes funny noises…” When the woman gave her a funny look and started to walk away, she grabbed her hand and sniffled. “Please, I have to…”

“PURSE SNATHCERS! THEY’RE TRYING TO STEAL MY PURSE!” She swung her purse just as Diablo pulled Saba out and smacked her up long side her head with it, Saba let out a screech and jumped on the woman’s head. “HELP ME DANIEL!” She yelled at her husband who just stood looking in the store window at the mannequins in thongs. Sonji fought to pull Saba off the woman’s head and when she finally got her free, she got the woman’s wig as well. Saba wrapped her arms around Sonji’s neck screeched and showed her fangs at the old woman who swung her purse at Diablo again and caught her in the side of her face.

“Damn it woman we just wanted our monkey out of you damn purse!” Sonji yelled and blocked the purse from hitting her dazed lover. “Stop hitting her before I call a cop!” She helped Diablo up from the ground and pulled her back towards the restaurant. “Damn crazy ass bitch, go back to you old ladies home!” Once they were far enough away, she stopped them and looked at Diablo’s face. “Are you all right devil?”

“Huh?” She blinked her eyes a few times and swayed back and forth. Stesha came jogging up and caught Saba mid flight from her jump from Sonji, she stopped in front of her daughter and grimaced.

“Who the Hell clobbered you?” She ran her finger across a mouse that was forming under a blue eye and growled. “Diablo Hawthorne who hit you?”

She gave her a stupid grin and waved. “Hi ma.”

“Some old woman hit her with her damn purse after she pulled Saba out, she must have had bricks in the damn thing.” She took her lover’s hand and pulled her head down to get a closer look at her head and face. “She’ll be OK; I think she’s a little stunned.”

“More like knocked stupid, that woman better not come anywhere near us or I’ll knock her ass out.” She took her daughter’s hand while Sonji took the other, between the two of them they kept her from falling.

“So what’s with Saba and big purses?” She asked Stesha.

“Ohh they remind her of the canvas bags we carry while working the site, my husband always had candy in his and she would go in there looking for it. Try convincing a monkey that not every bag has candy in it,” She pointed to the small fanny pack around Saba’s waist. “I even gave her that so she could have her own candy but she’s a stubborn as Devil.” She raised an eyebrow at Sonji. “Ohh so you haven’t encountered the stubborn side of my kid yet?”

“Ohh I think I have, she just knows how to cover it better.”

“Yassou, I’m right here ya know.” Diablo looked down at the two smaller women and cringed when she turned her head. “My head is killing me and my eye hurts.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised, why didn’t we just tell that old bitch that Saba was in her purse?”

“Because the last time I tried that, the woman swore up and down that Saba was her monkey and was going to report me to the police for trying to steal her property.” She ran fingertips across the swelling beneath her eye and groaned. “I’m gonna have a black eye huh?” Sonji’s eyebrows peaked above her nose; she nodded her head and placed a soft kiss on her lover’s brow.

“Come on you wimpy Tomb Raider, enough mushy stuff and whining.” She put a small harness on Saba and hooked a leash to it. “I wanna go see John and do some shopping before we head out to the island. I need some new cargo shorts and t-shirts.” She pulled on her worn and tattered shorts and looked down to her battered boots. “Maybe some new boots too, these have holes in the bottom.”

************

A few hours later, they had found a place for ma to get everything she needed without having to hit every store on the island or break her bank account either. They stopped in front of their yacht and waited for ma to say something about the name; she looked to her daughter with a raised dark eyebrow and smirked. “Was this bought before or after you came back Sonji?”

Sonji blushed and looked down to Saba who was sleeping on her lap. “I bought it before I went back to LA, why?”

“Ohh because my dimwit kid had no idea that you had staked claim to her before you left, I tried to tell her but she’s a blockhead.” She got out of the truck and looked around her until she found John’s yacht a few boats down. “He better not have some floozy on there, the last time I caught them right in the middle of some very kinky sex.” She winked at her daughter and Sonji and then headed down the dock.

“Nothing fazes her does it?”

“Nope, after all these years of hanging out with college kids, there’s nothing that she hasn’t seen or heard.” She wrapped an arm around Sonji’s waist and kissed her temple. “She’s even caught me a time or two, I thought we’d be safe down in the Egyptian tombs.”

“You would have been but John’s a narc and he told me.” Stesha laughed and jumped aboard John’s yacht.

“Did I tell you that she has satellite dishes for ears?”

*********

Sonji covered her ears and closed her eyes; the noise coming from the monkeys was enough to deafen people all the way to Mexico. As soon as they had gotten to shore, Saba took off up the beach screaming. Minutes later, Gibbon, Jimmy and Beethoven were running towards her and then rolling in the sand. “They remember each other?” Sonji questioned Diablo and went back to watching the monkeys wrestle.

“They were all raised together and they’re more like humans than most people believe. Some primates stay with their parents until they’re seven or eight years old before finding a mate. They stay with that mate until one of them dies, now the gorillas are different.” She smiled down at Sonji and took her hand. “We could take some lessons from them.”

“Yeah we could, so do all archeologists have monkeys or just you two?”

“Just us, ma has always had monkeys. She had one when she was little and it passed on to me. We use them in the ruins to get into small spaces, Saba goes in with a small fiber optic camera and ma watches on a monitor.”

“I never thought of the how the pyramids were explored in our day, I have this PC game called something Sphinx and they have this little robot thing that you use to explore air shafts. I kept getting the damn thing stuck and had to go back to a saved game, so I can see where using a monkey would be easier.”

“Until they decided to unhook their tether line and do what they please, Saba would always come out when dad rattled candy wrappers though.”

“OK devil, you can carry that heavy ass box and we’ll get the rest of the stuff.” Ma said and walked past her with her carry-on and some plastic grocery bags.

She groaned and looked down at the box. “I think we’ll put the wheel barrow down here for when we go to Oahu.” She hefted the box up in her arms and waited for Sonji to collect the other bags. “What kinda books did you buy anyway?”

“Ohh very educational ones, you’ll see later.” She nudged her lover forward and grinned the entire way to the hut because of all the moaning and groaning Coming from a struggling Diablo.

*********

“This is unbelievable.” Sonji exclaimed as she looked at the temple remains. “No one has ever done anything around here but you?”

“Nope, it was pretty forgotten except for in some very old books that I found in the library on the main island.” She picked a large but very delicate flower that only grew around the ruins and handed it to her lover. “Ma’s gonna be busy for a while, wanna take a walk, there’s more over on the other side?” She took Sonji’s hand and led her down a path that stopped at the edge of a cliff; she pointed to two rough stone pillars and ran a fingertip across engravings that had seen the play of time. “I found these right after I found the ruins, they depict a sort of story of the natives that lived here but are unfinished.”

“Unfinished as in no one was left to do it and that’s what you’re trying to discover.” She leaned into Diablo and ran her fingertips across the stone. “Will ma be able to help you with this?”

“Ohh she has over the years, she has a lot more knowledge than I do and if I don’t recognize something then chances are good that she will.” She leaned down, placed a loving kiss upon Sonji’s lips, and then hugged her tightly to her body. “What ma doesn’t know comes to her in dreams.”

“She gets answers in her dreams?”

“Yep, always has. It scares me sometimes that she knows what I did before I can tell her. Kinda like the spirits talking to her or something, she says it’s the Goddesses.”

“Anything is possible Diablo, after all the Pagan religion was here way before the Christian one. Who’s to say that the Gods and Goddesses aren’t still around?”

“You’re something else baby,” She kissed her again and looked over her shoulder to where her ma called out to them. “Ma must have found something that I didn’t.”

“I got something here and this is the perfect time ta give it ya.” She gestured to the two stone pillars. “Right here with your mini Easter Island and the sea.” She pulled a leather pouch from her cargo pocket and handed it to Diablo. “Go ahead and take a look, it’s the most amazing thing believe me.” Diablo emptied the contents into her hand, looked and then pinned her ma where she stood grinning.

“OK Tomb Raider senior, where did you steal this from,” A dark eyebrow rose when nothing was said. “Ma, I know this didn’t come from Crete, so where did it come from?”

“Ohh I made a weekend trip to Turkey and ended up at the Temple of Artemis,” She pointed to the necklace and brought a finger across her lips. “No one knows about that or that I was there.” Sonji took the necklace in her hand and ran a fingertip across the two golden crescent moons suspended by two thick golden chains.

“It looks brand new but very old at the same time, was it just luck that you found this?”

Ma shook her head and stepped closer to them. “That necklace came from a spot that no one paid attention to, it came to me in one of my dreams.” She waited for the looks she usually got and saw nothing by anticipation. “On the corner of what remains of the temple, I dug away the dirt and found a bronze box under the foundation stone wedged in a crevice. That was inside the box wrapped in oil clothe, once I got back to Crete, I looked the box over and found three words in Ancient Greek that said ‘For the chosen.” She took the necklace and in seconds had two separate necklaces with a crescent moon each. “It was meant for two lovers,” She flipped one of the moons over and showed them where a labrys was engraved on it. “Two Amazon lovers blessed by Artemis.”

“When was this temple built?” Sonji asked and handed one of the necklaces to Diablo.

“The foundation dates back to the seventh century but it didn’t become famous until around 550BC. It was sponsored by the Lydian king Croesus and was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron. They decorated the place with bronze statues sculpted by the most skilled artists of their time: Pheidias, Polycleitus, Kresilas, and Phradmon to name a few.” Diablo said and then looked to her ma to finish the tail.

“The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. For years, merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings paid homage to the goddess by sharing their profits with her. So far, tomb raiders at the site revealed gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory. Earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, some of the artifacts came from as far as Persia and India. But that necklace is Greek and dates back to when the foundation was made; it survived the original temple being burned down and centuries of archeologists digging around. What was weird was that if you faced away from where I found it, you would be facing Greece.” Sonji looked up from where she was looking at the woven chain and shook her head.

“We can’t keep these, they belong…,”

“Around your neck, four of us know about them and the Goddess wouldn’t have come to me if she didn’t want them found. Think of it as it was meant to be, a gift and a blessing from Artemis to her chosen Amazons.” She took the necklace from Sonji, placed it around her neck, and then did the same for Diablo. “If you believe then so shall it be.” She gave them both a kiss on their cheeks and then went back to digging around the ruins. Sonji ran a finger across the crescent moon and looked up to her lover.

“So mote it be.” She reached out to Diablo and pulled her down for a kiss that showed what was in her heart and soul, every fiber of her body sang out and she swore that the air crackled around them.

“Es’ to Sonji es’ to.” Diablo took her lover’s hand and led them back to the ruins. “Ma we’re going back down, send one of the kids if you need us for anything.”

Ma returned to the hut with all the larger monkeys, she walked into the living room and rolled her eyes. Diablo and Sonji lay with their limbs entwined; Sonji had her head resting on a wide chest between firms breasts. Diablo had one hand tangled in her hair and a possessive hand on the back of her thigh. Looking closer, she saw a set of little eyes peeking from the mass of Diablo’s dark hair covering Sonji’s back. “What did you do watch them?” She asked the tiny monkey and snickered when the other one peeked up from beside Diablo’s head. “Sick little monkeys, wake up your mama so I can show her what I found.” She went over to Diablo’s worktable and placed down the artifacts she had found while digging, she grabbed a toothbrush and started to clean the most prized piece better. A wide grin came across her face when she heard a loud yell and then all kinds of noise from where Diablo and Sonji were on the floor. She looked over her shoulder and snickered at her daughter. Her long hair was tangled all around her and Sonji and Thelma was hanging on for dear life.

“Where is she?” Diablo grumbled and blinked her tired eyes a few times to focus. “Damn little hairy fingers,” She looked to where the snickering was coming from and pointed a finger at her ma. “You told them ta do that didn’t you?” She rubbed her nose and reached out to keep Sonji from falling on her ass. “You OK baby?”

“Yeah except for having a hairy little hand shoved up my nose.”

“Of course I told them to wake ya up, I wanted to show you what I found and besides, John’s coming out tonight. I know you would box his ears if he caught you two bare ass naked on the floor.” She nodded her head to where Sonji was still tangled in her hair. “Look likes a giant spider web over there and Sonji’s the fly.”

“From know on, we’re gonna braid your hair.” She wiggled free, grabbed Diablo’s hand and pulled her towards their bedroom. “I think right now would be a good time to start.”

“Hold on there you two, come over here first because once you go in there It’ll be hours before I see either one of ya.” She waved a hand and held out the small ivory statue she had found. “This does not belong on the island.” Diablo took the six-inch statue in her hand and looked into her ma’s twinkling blue eyes.

“But this is a Goddess from India,” She looked closely at the small statue of the Goddess of plaque and blood sacrifices. “Why would someone bring Poleramma here?” She shook her head and then looked to Sonji. “I don’t want this here, take it back with you and toss it in Aegean.” She handed it back to her ma and shivered. “Still gives me the creeps after all these years.”

“Who is this Poleramma and why does she give you the creeps.” She took the small ivory statue in her hand and felt chills run up her arm, she didn’t know if it was caused from Diablo’s distaste or something entirely different. Ma nodded her head at her daughter and went on to explain who the Goddess was.

“She’s better known as Kali, one of the Hindu Goddesses. When we were in India, we came across a village where the people sacrificed children to her. Their temple has a huge pit at the base of Kali’s feet and inside was rotting body parts, the floor is covered in dried blood inches thick and the stench is enough to gag people miles away.” She reached out, grasped Diablo’s hand, and gave her a small smile. “I’ll take it with me and toss it in with the other useless stuff we’ve found over the years.”

“But doesn’t this mean that someone came to this island from India at some point, maybe you could find out what ships were in India and left for this direction?” Sonji said as she rubbed goose flesh from her arms.

“That’s possible and it could also mean that who ever brought the statue here practiced the art of human sacrifice and that’s what happened to the natives. Now I’m not saying that all people who practice the Indian version of the mother Goddess do this but some did and still do.” Ma said and looked to Diablo. “Or it could have just been a thing they traded for, we’ve never found any bones or anything while digging.”

“No we haven’t but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t and then maybe tossed the bodies into the ocean to appease a Hawaiian God. Either way…”

“Don’t worry devil, I’ll take Kali with me.” She gave them both hugs and then stuck the small statue in her backpack. “Maybe I’ll send it back to India and let them put it in some museum?” She said to herself as she zipped the side pouch closed. “Now go take a shower and I’ll get supper ready, we’re having souvlaki, kolokitkia Vraska and mousaka.” She grinned at the moaning coming from Diablo and the wide grin plastered on Sonji’s face. “Guess someone better break out the wine for tonight and get me some zucchini and egg plant from the garden.”

************

Both John and Sonji leaned back in their chairs and moaned, between the two of them, they had eaten enough for ten people. Ma looked to her daughter and grinned. “Looks like they stuffed themselves that they’ll roll across the floor, you might have to toss some stuff off John’s yacht so it don’t sink.”

“Thanks ma, love you too and it’s your fault I ate all of that food.” John said and groaned as he got out of the chair. “Devil doesn’t cook like you do and I’m thankful for it, I’d weigh 400 pounds if she did.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to the front door. “Speaking of poundage, ma, I brought that crate with me. If you people keep ordering stuff like this, I’m gonna get me a barge.” Diablo gave her mom a raised eyebrow look and crossed her arms over her chest.

“What did you have shipped here and is it stolen?”

“You’ll see in the morning and no it’s not stolen, I had it made for ya. One of the helpers on the crew makes them and I thought it would look good here on the island.” She knew she had said too much when Diablo pulled an old hammer from her worktable and walked out the door. “Me and my big yap, now she’ll go out there and tear the crate apart. “She covered her face and groaned; Sonji chuckled and pulled a hand down.

“Come on ma, let’s go watch devil act like it’s Christmas.”

“And then cuss a blue streak when she has ta move the thing,” She looked back at John and waved a hand. “Come on John, you might as well get in on the ass kicking.”

“Gee thanks ma, I’m already sore from dragging that thing up here now you want my ass to match the rest of my body?”

“How did you get it up here anyway?” Sonji asked as she pulled ma out the door.

“One of those dollies’s that movers use, the worst part was keeping it from bogging down in the sand and getting tangled in the vines.” Sonji stepped out the door and froze, the wooden crate was as tall as her lover was and four feet wide, she was amazed that John was able to get it to the hut without help.

“Gods John, you’re lucky you don’t have a hernia. Why didn’t you come and get us?”

“Because ma wanted it to be a surprise and next time I come out here, we’re building a dock in the cove. I had to tip my runabout on its side to get that damn thing out.” He covered his ears when Diablo pulled the nails out, the screeching reminded him of mails on a chalkboard. “The rest wasn’t that bad because the dolly lays down and has four wheels.” One side of the crate fell to the grass to reveal seltzer packing and bubble wrap. Diablo pulled more nails out and the rest of the crate fell away, with everyone’s help, they had ma’s surprise standing proud in the front yard.

“Ma it’s beautiful,” Diablo said as she walked around the statue of Artemis, she ran a hand across the smooth texture with a raised eyebrow. “What’s he make them out of, it looks like marble but it’s lighter?”

“He refuses ta tell me, I do know that he carves everything by hand and then makes molds out of them. He sells these all over the world when he’s not working sites. Ya know for rich people ta put in their gardens and stuff, like they know what the Gods and Goddesses stand for. I had this one made just for you; it’s more of how I see her.” Diablo laughed and gave her ma a tight hug.

“Thanks ma and you’re right. I don’t think the classical Artemis would look to good standing out here,” She looked at Sonji’s confused expression. “The ancients had her chest covered in breasts, but me and ma have always seen her as more of an Amazon.” She ran fingertips across the bow in one hand and then across the arrows in the quiver on her back.

“As long as it’s a half naked woman, she can stand on my yacht any day.” John eyed the statue and grinned. “You said he makes all kinds of statues, can he make me on for the bow of my yacht?” He saw the three of them roll their eyes. “Ahhh come on, I want a mermaid, anything wrong with that?”

**********

After arguing with ma for an hour, Diablo and Sonji lost the battle and the war, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms in their bedroom while John and ma slept on air mattresses in the living room. “Now I have the full effect of Greek baring gifts.” Sonji whispered and snuggled closer to Diablo. “Ma’s something else and I can’t believe these necklaces.” She traced the crescent moon that rested below the hollow of her lover’s throat.

“We’ve been to the seventh wonder of the world and I never saw where anyone even touched the ground around the steps. So that means that there’s only one way ma knew about it and that’s by her dream.” She brought their lips together in a searching kiss and rolled Sonji beneath her. When the kiss ended, Diablo looked down into dark green eyes that glowed from the candle on the bedside table. “Ya know by accepting the necklace, we’re joined in the eyes of Artemis?” She watched a brilliant smile come over her lover’s face and matched it.

“I kinda figured that and I can’t think of anyone that I’ve ever wanted to be joined with than you. I love you with my very soul Diablo.” She pulled her down for a lingering kiss and then wiped the tears from high cheekbones. “What’s wrong baby?”

“Nothing except that I waited so long to find you and it turns out that you found me. I owe Poseidon a gift for bringing you here, guess I’ll throw John in the surf in the morning.” She grinned and then yelped when Sonji pinched her ass. “I love you my little Amazon.” They made love slowly, exploring every inch of each other’s bodies with fingertips, lips and tongue. Their joined cries of release muffled against sweat drenched skin, their bodies shuddered with the remains of their orgasms and then calmed. Diablo lifted her head from where it lay on Sonji’s shoulder; she gazed down into sea green eyes and saw them filled with love. She rose upward, kissed her way down to slick thighs, and placed kisses on each hipbone before continuing to wet curls. She inhaled their combined scents and moaned when her center twitched with arousal. Dropping her head, she licked along the sides of swollen nether lips and grinned when Sonji spread her thighs further apart and whimpered.

“Ohh Gods…devil…,” She thrust her hips upward into her lover’s mouth and gripped the damp sheets in clenched fists. Diablo rolled her tongue in different directions before finally finding the spot that drove Sonji insane. She flattened out her tongue and dragged it slowly from her center up to press hard against her clit and then back down to flutter at the tip of her bundle of nerves. She held on to her hips when she bucked and thrust against her and then speared her tongue into her center when she crested and went over the edge. “Son of a…pros theon’!” Sonji yelled and quaked against her lover’s mouth with each spasm that shot through her body. When her body had calmed somewhat, she looked down and saw the strain in Diablo’s face. She pulled her upward, had her go onto all fours and stay that away until she came back into the room. “Don’t move devil,” She crawled up behind her, nipped her ass with sharp teeth and grinned when Diablo thrust her hips. She ran a finger between her nether lips and moaned at how wet her lover was. “Gods baby you’re so ready.” She moved up close behind her, brought the strap-on between her thighs and up against her twitching lips.

“Is that what I think it is?” Diablo asked in a breathy voice.

“Uhh huuhh, don’t worry, I’ll be gentle with you.” She thrust her hips slowly just letting the head of the dildo brush across her until she heard a deep growl.

“I can’t take no more teasing…,” She moaned when she felt it slid inside of her and Sonji pump her hips in long slow strokes. “More…I need more…” She pushed back into her lover and gasped out when the head hit a sensitive spot. Sonji pumped into her at a quicker pace and heard moaning and grunting until Diablo’s body stiffened and she yelled out against the fist she had up to her mouth. Sonji thrust once more and fell across her lover’s back, her hips continued to jerk with the spasms of her climax and her juices to run down the insides of her thighs. Diablo’s arms gave out and dropped them to the mattress, they lay panting and moaning from the small tremors that raced through their bodies. Diablo tensed her insides and heard Sonji whimper and push into her. “So it’s double headed?”

“Uhh…stop or I’ll…Oooohhh geez!” She felt her body flipped over and then was amazed when she looked up into pale blue eyes.

“Or you’ll what?” Diablo asked right before she thrust against her and didn’t stop until they were crying out their releases again. The sun was rising when they finally fell into an exhausted sleep wrapped in each other’s arms and still connected together.

**********

John rubbed his bloodshot eyes and growled at ma, she was bright eyed and bushy tailed and cooking a late breakfast. He could barely keep his eyes open and she was whistling up a storm and dancing around the kitchen. “How come you look like you slept in a tomb and I feel like I slept in the monkey cage at the zoo?”

“Because I sleep like the dead and never heard all the noises coming from their bedroom like you did. Go wake them up, breakfast is almost done.”

“Why do I have to go in there, they might be naked?”

“Of course they’re naked and like you’ve never seen that before.” She rolled her eyes at the blush that ran up his face and waved a hand at him. He dropped his head, ran his hands across his stubbled cheeks and dragged his feet to the bedroom.

“Neither one of them better kick my ass or I’ll…cry like a baby.” He stepped quietly into the room, looked down at the two women and spun on his heel to go back to the kitchen. “I can’t wake them up…they’re…ma you go look.” He dropped down at the table and let his head fall down to rest on the wooden surface.

“You’re a big wimp John, what could be so bad that you can’t wake them up?” She dropped a dishtowel on his head and went into the bedroom; she stood beside the bed and tilted her head to the side for a better angle. “Well I’ll be,” She ran a hand across her chin and grinned. “That’s gonna hurt like a big bitch.” She reached down, shook her daughter’s shoulder, and then held her in place when one bloodshot eye opened. “Devil you two are still connected in the biblical sense so don’t move too fast.” She grinned wider when Diablo blushed and let out a small groan. “I don’t know how you two managed to stay that way all night.”

“We didn’t,” She mumbled. “Only been asleep a little while.” She looked to the clock and groaned some more. “Mama…”

“Get some more sleep devil but you better get Sonji to pull out first.” She chuckled when her daughter’s blush deepened and then went back out to tease John. “Their dicks bigger than yours manly man.”

“Thanks ma, that really builds up my ego.”

********

Tabitha pulled up in front of Sonji’s house, she looked at the realtors sold sign and then back to the mailbox to make sure she was at the right house. Getting out of her car, she strutted up the driveway and stopped in front of the window near the front door. She looked in ad saw that the front room was empty of all furnishings and that there was a key box on the door handle. Using her own key, she opened the door and went inside. She searched every room and found not one tiny bit of anything that was Sonji’s. “I can’t believe you would do this Sonji,” She planted a hand on one hip and fluffed her hair with the other. “If you think this will keep me away from you you’re in for a rude awakening, I’ll find you and get you back in my bed in an hour.” She pulled her cell phone out and dialed Sonji’s parent’s house. “This is Tabitha, where is Sonji?”

“She’s with you so why are you calling me?” Sonji’s dad said and then grinned knowing he threw her for a minute or two.

“Well, she was with me a week ago. I don’t know where she is now and she sold her house!”

Mr. Anderson held back the shock and answered in his normal smartass way when it came to the arrogant woman. “She did call us and said that you two were in Istanbul riding camels across the desert, look around you, I’m sure you can’t miss a big old camel.”

“You’re no help and there are no camels here!” She hung up the phone and stomped out of the vacant house. “I swear he must think I’m dumb and blind, I would have noticed a camel instantly if there was one here and where’s Istanbul?”

*******

Mr. Anderson hung up the phone and yelled for his wife at the tops of his lungs. “Mama Sonji sold her house!”

“Jesus Christ old man I’m right behind you.” She said and slapped him in his shoulder. “What do you mean she sold her house, she’s in Hawaii with that bitch Tabitha.”

“Nope, that was the bitch on the phone. I guess she’s back and Sonji’s missing.” Mrs. Anderson shook her head of blonde shoulder length hair with its grey streaking through at the temples and mumbled.

“Now what has she done to get away from Tabitha, the last time she took off to San Juan for a week and learned to Tango.” She grabbed the phone and called her daughters cell phone, after four rings a strange voice answered.

********

“Yassou.”

“I’m sorry I thought this was Sonji Anderson’s number.”

“Ohh it is, hold on a minute and I’ll get her.” Diablo rolled across the bed and held out the phone for her lover who had just come from the bathroom, she then rolled back with a low groan and fell into her pillow.

“Hello?”

“Sonji where are you?”

“Hi mom, I’m in Hawaii.” She covered her face with one hand and dropped down onto the edge of the bed. “I was going to call you this afternoon and let you know what’s going on.”

“Too late, the bitch called here looking for you, she said you sold your house. What are you doing?”

“It sold already…I ahhh I’m gonna live here in Hawaii.” She looked to a worried Diablo and smiled. “I’m staying here with my wife Dr. Diablo Hawthorne.” She heard her mother let out a yell and pulled the phone away from her ear. “Holly God damn she got married!” She heard her mother scream and then cringed when she got back on the phone with the same loud voice.

“You married a doctor in less than a month?”

“Yeah mom and she’s not the type of doctor you’re thinking either, she’s an archeologist and we’re living on her island.”

“She has her own island, so I take it that Tabitha doesn’t know all of this?”

“Nope and I don’t want her to know either, she caused enough problems when we were here.” She went on to tell her mom about them being ship wrecked and the time they spent there until John took them back to Oahu. They spoke for an hour and then she hung up to find Diablo asleep and clutching her pillow to her chest. She got up and went into the kitchen to get their breakfast; she glanced at ma and blushed. “Morning ma, sorry we slept so late.”

“After all that exercise you two had I’m surprised you’re up now.” She pointed to the oven and a pitcher of fresh orange juice on the counter. “Everything is in there; it should still be warm so you might wanna nuke it.”

“Ohh I’m up but devil went back to sleep and thanks for making breakfast.”

“She must be really worn out if she went back to bed.” She grinned and then chuckled at the light blush covering Sonji’s face. “John headed back to Oahu; he had a charter to take out today. He said if you have anything else coming like mail, that he would call and let you know.”

“The stuff we brought should be it for a while; I still haven’t opened up my box of books.” She pulled the food from the microwave, filled two glasses with juice and placed everything on a wooden tray. “What are your plans for today?”

“I’m taking the kids down to do some fishing, check the lobster traps and then do some work on the book me and devil are writing. You better get in there before they come in and see food; they stole most of Johns this morning.” Sonji nodded her head and took the tray into the bedroom. “Maybe find some wild herbs to give devil an energy boost, she’s gonna need it at this rate.” She said to herself and chuckled from the remembered sight earlier that morning.

*********

Sonji kept pulling Gibbon out of the box she was trying to unpack, as soon as she pulled a couple books out, Gibbon jumped back in and smacked at her hand. “If you would let me get my books out you could have the box sooner.” She snorted when Jimmy jumped in on top of her and then wrestled with her inside the box. “You guys are worse than cats,” She reached around their bodies, pulled the last of the books out, and then watched the box fill up with the rest of the larger monkeys. She rolled her eyes upward to see Thelma and Louise looking down from their perch on top of her head. “Do you guys feel left out; I think I have another box you can play in?”

“They have you wrapped around their little hands.” Diablo said and then dropped to the floor behind her. “You know people think I’m nuts because I live with monkeys and have long intense conversations with ’em?”

“If I had known how intelligent they were years ago, I would have gotten a monkey instead of dating some of the women I did.” She looked down at the book in her hand, flipped it over and moaned. “Damn, you’ve always been a Goddess haven’t you?” She showed Diablo one of her earlier books when she had to be in her late teens.

“If you consider being thirteen and already six-feet tall a Goddess than yeah.” She snickered when she heard her ma groan.

“She ain’t full of herself is she?” She tossed them each a plum and then groaned when five little sets of primate eyes pinned her. “Don’t worry I have more.” She emptied her pockets on the table and moved out of the stampeding primate’s way. “Thieving little monkeys stole all of them from the first bag I picked and then ran off with my bag.” She pulled on Saba’s tail and stuck her tongue out at her when she bared her teeth. “You evil little bugger.” She walked over to where all the books sat on the floor and whistled. “Did you buy every book we ever wrote?

“I think so, believe me I hit every book store on-line and the ones in California before I left. I found all of them at one place and just had them shipped here.”

“When we get our new one published, I’ll give you the first copy off the press.” Diablo said and kissed her temple. “If you feel like it, we could take ma back to Crete and you can see what we’re writing about first hand.” She hit the floor when Sonji turned and jumped her.

“You really mean that, we can sail to Crete?”

“When ever you want, but we have to take all the kids with us and arrange with John to stay here.” She groaned at the thought of her long time friend set loose on her island. “If he turns the place in to Club Med for leggy women, I’ll kill him.”

“You won’t have to; we’ll ship him in a crate to Tabitha.” Ma got a huge toothy grin on her face, it had been years since she had cruised the seas and was looking forward to it.

“That’ll be a long ass trip; we can get our book done and then some. Is there enough room on that yacht so we don’t trip and fall all over each other?”

“More than enough, we’ve got four cabins, a living room and Hell; it’s like being in a house.” Sonji asked and rolled off Diablo. “We can stop and restock anywhere we want, see the different countries. Well the ones that I’ve never seen which is just about anywhere you point to.”

**************

Two weeks later, they had everything of personal manner they needed on board the yacht and were just putting the last things that they had bought on Oahu in the lower storage area. One thing that they had on the deck was a large screen cage with all the monkeys in it with the exception of Thelma and Louise who were in Diablo and Sonji’s berth. John handed the last of the boxes to ma and then leapt aboard to take it from her hands. “This is the last one,” He pulled a clipboard with a chart on it from the railing and handed it to her. “This is every place that you guys can stop at that are reliable and trust worthy when it comes to getting fuel and other supplies. They’re all friends of Skinny and know that you’re heading their way.”

Ma took the chart and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks John we really appreciate all the work you’ve done and be sure to thank Skinny for us.”

“Ohh he’s expecting to get a package of Baklava from Greece, he may weigh all of a hundred pounds but he can eat like Sonji.”

“Using my name in vein again I see, and for your information I need all that food to keep up with ma. She can walk your legs off and then some.” She wrapped an arm around her mother-in-law and kissed her cheek. “Is that the last box we have to go below?”

“Yep, I’ll take it down right now so that you guys can head on out to terrorize the seas.” He walked to the steps that would take him to the lower decks and met Diablo half-way down. “Don’t worry about anything, I’ll be the only one on your island and it won’t be until night. I have a full booking for deep sea fishing and a few whale chaser cruises.”

“I wasn’t gonna say anything about that, I’m…” She dropped her head and wiped at the sweat on her upper lip.

“You guys will do great out there, you and ma know how to sail and Sonji’s a damn quick learner. She’s read all the books I could find for her and has the charts memorized, I don’t even have that done and I’m out there everyday.” Amazed blue eyes locked with his and a dark eyebrow rose in exclamation. “Ohh, so you didn’t know that she has a photographic memory?”

“No I didn’t,” she looked up the steps to see her wife talking with ma. “Just wait until I get a hold of her.”

“You’ll bang her brains out and she’ll forget everything.” He shook his head at her and grinned before jogging down the steps. Diablo jogged up the remaining steps and stopped behind her small wife, she planted her hands on her hips and waited for her to turn around.

“I have this awful feeling that a certain devil is aggravated about something.” She winked at ma and turned around with a sexy smile on her face. “So what seems to be the problem devil?” Diablo took a shuddering breath and shook her head.

“You do that just to throw me off,” She took Sonji by the hand and led her over to the thick padded seats near the railing. “So you have all the charts memorized among other things?”

“John’s a damn snitch,” She pointed a finger at him when he cleared the steps. “I didn’t want to look like an idiot and not know what to do or where to head us. I never want to experience falling overboard again and end up in shark infested waters.” Diablo gave her a lingering kiss and rested their foreheads together.

“You don’t have to worry about that; you’re with two natural born pirates who’ve sailed all over the world.”

“Ahhh, so I’m not the only one who was holding back information, I should have known.”

“It’s a family secret only because ma likes to sail bare ass naked and stand at the prow and do war cries.”

“You lying sack of shit Diablo Hawthorne, it’s you that does that!” Ma said after smacking her daughter on her head. “I’m gonna back us outta here and head out to scare the living shit out of you two with my sailing capabilities.” After giving John hugs and Diablo threatening his life if anything happened to her hut, they headed out. Once they were clear of everything, ma opened up the engines and had them going full throttle. Sonji unbraided her wife’s hair so that it flowed freely with the wind, they stood at the prow and watched as the yacht cut threw the waves and headed for the bottom of North America and would continue towards South America before turning up the coastline. Once on the Atlantic Ocean, they would head towards Africa and sail north towards Europe. On the final leg of their journey, they would stop off in Spain for the sites and then continue towards Greece and finally to the island of Crete.

**************

Thousands of miles later, with the waters calm and the sun high, Sonji sat in the fishing chair she had put on the deck with a deep sea-fishing pole in the holding cup. She laid her head back in the chair and looked up into dark sunglasses that hid her lover’s pale blue eyes. “I really suck at fishing,” She took the glass of iced tea and then her wife’s hand to pull her across her lap. “How long have I been sitting here?”

“Ohh about five minutes,” Diablo grinned and then kissed her forehead. “What kind of lure or bait are you using?”

“A great big hook with Gibbon on it.” Gibbon had become a royal pain in their asses; she had picked up the habit of tossing their clothes overboard among other things. They now kept the closets locked and everything else that didn’t float locked in a trunk in the pilothouse. “I caught her trying to toss the cooler overboard, what is it with her?”

“I think she’s getting stir crazy, it’s been years since she was on the open seas and back then she kept shutting the engines down or changing our coarse. Maybe we can anchor near a beach and let them go off and run their little bodies down.”

“What if they all take off and we can’t find them?”

“I’ve got lunge lines and harnesses; I use a small master lock to keep them from getting the line off their harness.” She looked over to see her ma up on the fly bridge with Saba, Jimmy and Beethoven. She looked back to the fishing line that was in the water and heard Sonji chuckle.

“Gibbon’s down in our cabin sleeping on the bed, I wore her ass out chasing her to get your boxers back.” She ran her hands up Diablo’s ribcage, cupped a bare breast and ran her thumb across a now hardening nipple. “How about if I wear you out for a few hours?” She leaned forward, flicked her tongue across the tip of her nipple and looked up into darkening eyes.

“Evil little woman, maybe I should stop running around half-naked?” Diablo forced out with a ragged breath, got up from her wife’s lap and then dragged her below to their cabin. Ma looked down from the fly bridge and shook her head.

“My Gods, how many times do they have to attack each other a day?” She looked to the monkeys and grinned. “You got that right, but I can’t cover my ears and pilot this thing at the same time.”

**************

A few days later Sonji dropped anchor near a large beachfront with jagged rocks in areas, she looked through a pair of binoculars and then yelled for Diablo. “What do ya think, it’s not real big but it should give the kids someplace to run around and get rid of some of their energy?” Diablo looked through the binoculars and then handed them to her ma.

“Looks good to me, maybe we can find some crabs or something for supper and there’s some trees off in the distance maybe some fresh fruit to go with it.”

“With all the food we have on board you want to scavenge?” Ma said and shook her head. “You two just wanna go romp in the trees or some other kinky sex game.” Sonji grinned and looked to a blushing Diablo.

“Nope won’t find us doing anything in a tree, been there done that.” She pulled the yacht in closer to the beach, dropped anchor and then helped ma with the hoist for the runabout.

“You two are kinky sex fiends, are ya sure you don’t have any Greek blood in you?”

“Not as far as I know, I pretty sure that I’m just German and Swedish.”

“Well that solves that, ever seen one of those Swedish skin magazines?” She chuckled when Sonji gave her a startled look. “Ask John when you get back home, those are his favorites.”

They got with in jumping distance of the beach when all the monkeys jumped and took off running across the beach, even the little ones went running while holding on to the others hand. Diablo was next, after helping Sonji and then her ma, she dropped down and touched the sand ground with both hands. “Gods this feels so good, I’ve missed real land.”

“Devil it’s been a whole three days since we were on solid ground,” Sonji said and then used her kneeling form for a seat. “Remember all the little booths I dragged you to in Spain?”

“How could I forget, my feet still hurt from all that walking and I’ll never ever again take food from you.” She mimicked Sonji. “Here devil try this. Ya know my mouth is still burning from those peppers?”

“You’re just a big wuss, with all the Greek food you grew up on you’re complaining about some little tiny peppers.”

“Peppers that singed the hair in my nose and off my ears and now I’ve got fur on my chest.” Ma sat down next to Sonji and snickered when Diablo groaned.

“That means you’ll look just like all your uncles, big tall hairy men that remind me of grizzly bears.”

“More like cavemen, all they need are big clubs ta drag behind ’em.”

“I won’t tell them you said that if you go and see about some fresh fish or maybe some crabs or something.” She got up, waited for Sonji to get up and then pulled Diablo to her feet. “Now get enough to feed the monster in your wife’s stomach, if I didn’t know any better I’d swear she was pregnant.” She smacked them both on their asses and went off after the monkeys.

“That’d be something that would be hard to explain.” Sonji said and then took Diablo’s hand. “If that ever happens, you’re gonna tell my mom.”

************

Armed with a bucket and a lobster cage that they had brought with them, Sonji and Diablo walked in the shallow water on the far side of the island. Diablo stopped and placed her hands on her hips and searched in the clear water. “I haven’t seen anything yet, how about you?” She turned and saw the wicked grin on her wife’s face and then to where her eyes were glued to her ass. “And I’m not talking about my ass either.”

“Uuhhmm nope, nothing yet, maybe we have to go out further like we do at home?” She wiggled her brows and licked her lips to get her meaning across as to what she was thinking.

“You just wanna play in the water and lobster is the last thing that you want to put your hands on.”

“What can I say, I’m married to a Goddess and she keeps my libido racing.” She walked up to her, took her hand and led her out into the deeper water. “I’ll make you a deal, first we get supper and then we’ll play.” They dove in different directions and swam to the oceans floor, searching around out cropping of rocks; they swam to the surface and dove a few more times before Sonji came up with a good size lobster. Diablo went back down and stayed there until she found one. She shot to the surface and dragged in a deep breath before making her way to the beach, after dropping the lobster in the cage, she yelped. “Hey why’d you hit me?” She rubbed her ass and gave Sonji a narrowed look.

“Because I was getting worried, you were down there so long.” She went back out and dove into the water, Diablo grinned and went back out to do more searching. Once they had eight lobsters, they placed the cage in the water and stacked the chain on the beach. Before Diablo could stand up straight, Sonji jumped her and took them into the incoming surf. They chased and dunked each other until Sonji wrapped herself around her wife and astounded her with a kiss. Falling back into the shallow water, they lay and let the surf wash over them. Hands caressed wet skin and removed the silk shorts that they both wore; soft moans were swallowed as they moved against each other. Diablo raised one knee and pressed it against her lover’s center; she groaned and sucked the soft skin below Sonji’s neck as they rocked together. Pulses rose and they panted as they climbed higher towards the pinnacle, Sonji pulled away and captured Diablo’s lips just before she went over the edge, her hips thrust with every tremor and then she felt Diablo’s body arch under her. Their bodies bucked together with their climaxes until they lay wrapped in each other’s arms with the surf rolling across them. Sonji dropped her head down on her wife’s shoulder and chuckled.

“It’s a good thing that there’s only us and ma here, I think our shorts are gone.” She raised her head up and smiled down at Diablo. “Then again, we’re close to Greece and they have nude beaches don’t they?”

“Yeah and we are not going anywhere near them.” She kissed Sonji with all the passion she felt in her body hoping the thought of nude beaches would leave her wife’s head. When they broke the kiss, she knew that she had been caught. “Didn’t work huh?” She groaned and dropped her head back into the sand. “I don’t want men looking at you like you’re a piece of meat.”

“That goes for me to; I’d hate to end up in a Greek jail for kicking the shit outta all the men on the beach.” She rolled off Diablo and got to her feet. “We better head back, it’s getting dark and I’m hungry.” She pulled Diablo to her feet and then helped her with the lobster cage, when they got back to where they had left the runabout, they heard ma yell from the yacht. “What did she do make the kids swim out there with her?”

“She probably had Thelma and Louise on top of her head and the other ones on the life saver that’s not in the boat.” She looked around them and saw that it would be getting dark soon. “We better get back before it gets dark, I hate being in a boat this small in the dark.” She shivered and helped Sonji in and then lifted the heavy cage over the side. “OK Skipper, let’s go.”

**********

Ma led Sonji and Diablo down to her huge tent at the site where her crew was working, she smiled and raised a hand to one of the other archeologists and then turned to Sonji. “Beware of the hired help; I wouldn’t trust them as far as Devil could toss ’em.” She turned back with the smile still on her face and speaking through her teeth. “And the guy that just waved has a thing for blondes.”

“Just great, the dogs are everywhere aren’t they?” She mumbled to Diablo and then took her hand in a vise grip. “Don’t you go out of my sight, devil.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure every single one of them knows that if they touch you, I’ll sacrifice them to Artemis.” She stopped outside of her ma’s tent and snickered at the sign out front. “Head Bitch.”

“Yep, they kept calling me an overworking bitch so I had that sign made, come on in and take a load off.” She held the screen door open and watched the monkey’s rush past her and jump on her bed. “Nothing ever changes, they’ll have my quilt off on the floor and my pillow ripped to shreds.” She shook her head and followed everyone in. “It’s not much but this is home, no AC but I do have electricity.” She flipped a light on at her worktable that was a twin to her daughters and dropped into her old worn out chair. “As soon as Dr. Jackson gets in here I’ll have him get you guys a tent,” She pointed to Sonji and then her base radio. “And right now you’re gonna call your parents and let them know that we got here.”

***********

The next morning Sonji stepped from their tent and covered her eyes quickly, she felt like she was in an oven with the little light shinning in her eyes. Pulling her baseball hat on, she went in search of her wife and ma. She had no idea of where to look first and the amount of people wandering around amazed her, she had no idea how many workers it took to dig but it looked like a thirty or so. She stepped up to a young man, tapped him on his shoulder, and then waited for him to finish with the crate he was packing. “Have you seen Dr. Hawthorne?” When he turned and looked at her with very dark brown eyes, she saw just how young he was. If he was fourteen, he was lucky.

“You want head bitch, she at dig.” He pointed with a filthy hand with ragged fingernails to where there was a ladder going downward. “She have Diavallo with her.” He gave her a wicked grin and then saw the fire in her eyes. “I take you.” He jogged to the ladder, climbed down and waited for her to join him; he said nothing more until they reached the area where ma and Diablo were looking at some engravings on a high wall. He bowed his head and then ran back to the ladder.

“You were worried about me and you have a kid drooling after you?” Diablo turned and pulled Sonji against her chest.

“Morning baby,” She gave her a heated kiss and groaned when ma kicked her in her shin. “I didn’t want to wake you at the crack of dawn and hoped that Billy Bob would have been done with his packing before you came searching.” Sonji raised an eyebrow at the boys name and snorted.

“Billy Bob? That is such a Greek name.”

“I call him that because he likes all the old westerns and thinks it makes him a cowboy to be called that, little does he know he sounds more like a hill billy.” Ma said and groaned when dirt flew down at them from above. “CHILLED MONKEY BRAINS FOR LUNCH!” They heard screeches and then little bodies jumped from above to run across the pit and play in the empty wooden crates. She took Sonji by the hand and pulled her over to a crate she had sitting by the wall, she reached inside and pulled out a vase with two men wrestling on the front of it. “They found this while I was with you guys and some other smaller stuff. We think it was buried with a prominent person.”

“It’s beautiful, where will it go now?” She ran a fingertip across the gold inlaid figures and looked over to Diablo.

“We’re taking some crates over to the Heraklion museum, when we’re there I’ll take you through and you can see all the artifacts that have been collected throughout the years.”

“Will I be able to see the stuff that ma found?”

“Ohh yeah, I make sure that they put my stuff on display as soon as they get it.” Ma said and put the vase back in the crate. “Come on devil close this up while we get the monkeys caught and locked up, there is no way I’m searching for them when we get back.”

***********

Mr. Anderson answered the front door, swore and slammed it shut. He turned when his wife stepped up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. “Mama don’t open the door…it’s a shoe salesman.”

“Right and I’m Martha Stewart, get out of the way old man.” She pushed past him, fought him for the doorknob and finally got the door open only to see Tabitha. “Why didn’t you just say it was that crazy bitch and I wouldn’t have opened it?” He threw his hands in the air and walked away.

“Because I have CRS and I’m an old man.” He walked away not wanting to have to talk to Tabitha.

“Where’s Sonji, I really need to see her?” Tabitha whined and fussed with her silk suit. “I tried calling her cell phone and it keeps coming up as out of the area.” Mrs. Anderson grinned at her and laughed aloud.

“She left the country just to get away from you; she’s in Greece right this very minute with her wife and mother in-law.” Tabitha’s blue eyes grew wide and then narrowed.

“She’s not married, I would know if she was because it would be to me.”

“You are so full of yourself and yes she is, in fact I have a post card right here from her.” She pulled a post card from the small table beside the door and handed it to her. “Look for yourself, it came yesterday.” She crossed her arms over her chest and watched the nutcase read the back.

Hi mom and dad

We went to the Heraklion museum the other day; you would not believe the ancient artifacts there! I’ve even uncovered a few myself while helping ma at the site. Of course, I have help from the monkeys and Diablo and believe me, when we’re done, I can hardly stay awake to get back to our tent. Gotta go, devil’s waiting so we can go shower, I’ll call in a few days.

Love Sonji

Tabitha screamed and threw the post card, she stomped her feet and pulled at her hair. “I can’t believe she went to Greece without me!”

“Are you really that stupid, she’s married to Dr. Hawthorne why would she take you of all people?”

“She’s not! NotnotnotNOT!”

“Ohhh yes she is, in fact, she changed her last name before they left. Now get off my property before I call the police and have you locked up for door to door prostitution.” She slammed the door in Tabitha’s face, leaned back against it and busted out laughing. “Ohh she is so stupid, old man get out here!” She went in search of her husband and laughed the whole way.

**********

Three weeks later, Sonji and Diablo were standing on the docks saying goodbye to ma with tear-filled eyes. They had traveled to Turkey a few days before and visited the ruins of the temple of Artemis, it was there that they felt such a strong bond to each other that Sonji never wanted to leave Greece. Now, sobbing, she hugged ma and felt a closeness with the woman that she had never felt with her own mother. She kissed both her cheeks and stepped back to allow Diablo to say goodbye, she looked out over the land and felt like she would lose a piece of herself when they left. Wiping her tears away, she cried harder when she saw her wife’s tear stained cheeks. “Ohh for the love of Artemis you two,” Ma growled and wiped her own eyes. “I expect you two at the airport in Oahu in six months, ya got that?”

“You’re coming back in six months?” Diablo said in a hoarse voice.

“For good this time, I’m retiring before I’m too old to chase men. So you tell John to get the lumber ready so we can build my hut and to get me a generator for my kiln.” She looked at their shocked expressions. “Hey I’ve learned some stuff over the years, I’m gonna reproduce some of the statues I’ve found and sell ’em on E-bay for a hefty sum.” She gave them each another hug before sending them off, she stood on the dock waving with Saba sitting on her shoulder. “I hope they’re careful on the way back.” She turned and walked down the docks to where she had her small beat up Jeep waiting. A half hour later, she was pulling into the site and saw Billy Bob running towards her. She climbed out of the truck and tried to decipher his Greek and English mixed ravings. “Where is she?” She followed his finger and saw a dark haired woman trying to keep the dust from getting on her pale pink silk suit, she groaned after figuring out who the strange woman was. “Billy Bob, go turn the goats and sheep loose, make sure they run through here OK?” She handed him some candy and then went to see what Sonji’s ex wanted, she had been warned that she might show up and ecstatically agreed to send her on a wild goose chase. “I’m Dr. Hawthorne, what can I do for you?” She looked the woman over and groaned mentally.

“Where’s Sonji, I need to see her it’s concerning our future plans.”

“Your future plans huh? I don’t think so Tabitha, I know for a fact that you’re a using bitch and she told me not to tell you that she went to Uruguay…,” She slapped her hands over her face and cussed. “Damn it, she’s gonna kill me! But you’ll never find her there unless you can find the Swahili tribe she’s teaching English and economics to.” She held back her grin when a herd of goats and sheep came charging towards them kicking up all kinds of dust, she waved a hand in front of her face and smirked at the disgusted expression on Tabitha. “So you wasted your time and money coming all the way over here to Crete.”

“Ohh no I haven’t, now I’m closer to her and I will find her no matter what!” She stomped off and stopped when she noticed that her ride was gone, she turned in a circle and came back to ma. “I need to get to the nearest airport or how ever else I can get off this damn disgusting island.” Ma whistled and waved a hand at Billy Bob.

“Would you take her by our fastest transportation to the Hotel?”

“Yes ma, right away.” He took Tabitha’s hand and led her away.

“I hope you like donkeys and that you find out to late that the Swahili aren’t in Uruguay.” Ma said and went into her tent laughing hysterically.

**********

Diablo sat on the bench seat by the pilothouse with Sonji sitting between her raised knees; she dropped her head down, kissed her neck and then whispered in her ear. “Maybe your parents will come visit us on the island once ma gets there, she can take them to the other islands and teach them how to hula dance.” Sonji chuckled and leaned her head back against her wife’s shoulder.

“What ma does is not hula dancing, that’s harem dancing and it would kill my dad.” They had gone to one of ma’s favorite restaurants in Knossos, she had gotten up, and danced with the women, she could still hear the men yelling and clapping. “You never did answer my question from that night, can you dance like that?”

“I’m Greek what do you think?” She whispered in a seductive voice and felt Sonji shiver.

“Ohh my Gods,” She got up, shut the engines down, dropped the anchor and hit the stereo on. “OK devil, I want you to dance for me.” She stood with her arms crossed over her chest and waited with a tapping foot.

“Now, right now you want me to dance?” She raised an eyebrow and looked around them.

“Yep, right now and I promise you when you’re done I’ll do anything you want.” She licked her lips and ran her hands across her bare breasts.

“Ohh and the price is gonna be really big.” She said and then stood and moved in panther like movements towards her wife to stop beside the mermaid statue they had gotten for John. “I’ll warn you, I used to do this for money when I was younger.” She started to move her hips to the rhythm of the Greek music. “I wasn’t naked and I used pale blue veils and removed them one at a time.” She moved closer to Sonji and with each step, her hips swayed faster. “They threw money and jewels at my feet.” She rolled her stomach and saw sweat break out on Sonji’s face and her eyes darken. Placing her arms above her head, she picked up speed and soon had Sonji wiping her face and moaning. She rolled her stomach muscles up and down and then gyrated her hips, Sonji let out a yell that had the monkeys scattering across the deck. She advanced on her wife, took her hand and pulled her back over to the bench.

“No more or I’ll have a heart attack.” She pushed Diablo down and dropped to her knees before her. “Next time you use veils so I last longer.” She dropped her head and buried it between Diablo’s thighs, she moaned deeply when she found how wet her wife was. With what they were doing, they never noticed the engines start back up or the sound of the anchor rising. After waking from their naps from multiple orgasms, Diablo noticed that they were moving and how fast they were going. She leaned up on her elbows and saw Gibbon and Beethoven in the pilothouse and Jimmy up on the fly bridge.

“Ohh no, Sonji, Gibbon’s sailing!” She got up on unsteady feet and looked around them, she helped Sonji up and they headed towards the pilothouse.

“Are we headed in the right direction?” She asked and then took over from Gibbon.

“Would you believe that we are,” She looked to Sonji and grinned. “Maybe we could hire them out for charters.” She stepped behind Sonji and pulled her back against her body. “I love you Sonji Anderson-Hawthorne.” She slipped a hand down across Sonji’s stomach and stopped to run her fingers through her soft curls and lick at her ear. “Let’s drop anchor, put food out for the kids and turn in for the night. But before we turn in, you dance for me.”

“Me dance, so you need a good laugh huh?” She turned and pressed against her.” If I dance a hurricane will develop, well get lost as sea, some idiot will write a series about us and we’ll be forever stuck on an island with Tabitha and a bunch of other stupid people.”

“Uuhhmm…OK but I think we should go below anyway, there’s a Greek fishing boat out there and I have a funny feeling that they were watching us.” She pointed out the window and snickered when Sonji took off running for the stairs. “Hope you pervs got your jollies.” She said to herself and went full throttle to take them out of the area and away from the fisherman. “You planed this didn’t you Gibbon?” She rolled her eyes when Gibbon bared her teeth and screeched.

************

Sonji snorted and looked to see Diablo and Beethoven fighting over the last bagel she had toasted for their breakfast, she opened her cell phone and dialed her parent’s number while watching her wife try to take a bite of the bagel in her monkey’s mouth. “Yassou mom.”

“Where are you two and when am I going to met my daughter in-law?”

“We’re about two days away from Diablo island and how about next month?”

“Why next month and are you two coming to LA?”

“Because that’s when Diablo’s mom will be here and I’m sending you and dad tickets to come stay with us here in Hawaii.”

“Us in Hawaii, you’re dad will flip. He wants to see those hula dancers, you know like that damn statue on his cars dashboard.”

“Ohh I’m sure that Stesha and John will know just where to take you guys to see that.” She laughed when her mom told her dad and heard him do his version of a rebel yell.

“Before I forget, have you heard anything from Tabitha?”

“Ma radioed us and said that she sent her to Uruguay to find us with a Swahili tribe. She may still be there trying to find us and speaking Swahili from a book to people who speak Spanish or French.” She looked over to Diablo and groaned. “Devil that’s gross and I’m not kissing you until you brush your teeth!”

“Do I really want to know what she’s doing?” Her mom asked.

“She’s licking grape jelly off Beethoven’s fingers.”

“Beethoven, who’s that?”

“One of our five monkeys, they’re worse than kids.”

“So you weren’t kidding in your post card about monkeys helping you in Crete?”

“Nope, you’ll meet your grandkids when you and dad get here.” Before her mom hung up, she heard tell her dad that they had five hairy grandkids and they needed to bring lots of bananas with them. She closed her phone, leaned back in her chair, and watched her wife play with Beethoven. The two of them mimicked each other, even to the rolling of eyes and raising of eyebrows. She had never thought of monkey’s having eyebrows until she watched Beethoven’s small brow ridge rise and wiggle. “You know, I don’t know who the monkey is and who the human is.”

“That’s OK, neither do we.” She kissed a hairy little head and then pulled Sonji from her chair to sit on her lap. “So your mom and dad are coming to visit?”

“Yep, as soon as we get home, I’ll have tickets sent to them.” She turned her head and looked to where they had John’s mermaid strapped to the deck. “Do you think John will like her?”

“Knowing him, he’ll probably propose to her here. Which reminds me,” She pulled two solid gold rings from the pocket of her cut off shorts and held them out to Sonji. “I know we have the necklaces but no one will know what they signify, so I had these made while we were in Crete.” Sonji took one of the rings and looked at the letters engraved on the band. “It says ‘by the hand of Artemis’.” She took the smaller of the bands and slipped it on Sonji’s finger. “My heart and soul belong to you.” She kissed her gently and pulled back to see tears in light sea green eyes. Sonji slipped the other ring onto Diablo’s finger and then pressed her larger hand over her heart.

“My heart and soul belong to you, so mote it be.” She wrapped her arms around her wife’s neck and pulled her down for a loving kiss. “You’re rubbing off on me; I’m sounding more pagan by the minute.”

In a deep voice, Diablo asked. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“Ohh not at all devil, not at all.” She got up from her lap and took her hand. “Let’s see how many of the Gods names I can make you yell.”

***************

It was in the early morning hours when Sonji and Diablo made it back to the island. They had the runabout loaded with the stuff they were to take to their hut and were working the hoist system to ease it into the water. Once it was in the water, Sonji climbed down the ladder and into the boat, she looked to the shore and could swear that she saw two forms standing on the beach. Thinking it was just from the mist on the shore she ignored it and caught each monkey in her arms as they scampered down the ladder. Diablo came last with Thelma and Louise holding onto her neck and the last bag slung over her shoulder. “It’s gonna feel weird to be on land after all these months.” She said and then went over to the steering wheel. “Are we all set?” She checked to make sure that Sonji was sitting and that all the monkeys were safe. She cut the wheel and took them to the small cove, as she got closer; she saw the new dock and smiled. “John’s been busy; he built a dock for us.” Sonji looked over and grinned.

“I hope it’s not a peace offering of some kind and I wonder if he got the lumber for ma’s hut?”

“It better not be or he’s a dead man,” She pulled the runabout up to the dock, and waited for Sonji to tie them off. “This is easier than having to walk the rest of the way to the beach.” She then noticed the dolly sitting at the edge of the dock along with a large hand drawn wagon. She knew then that he had gotten the lumber and other stuff for ma’s hut; she wondered if he had started building it as well.

“Dr’s Hawthorne I presume?” A growling voice came from the dense bushes and sent chills up both women’s spines. Diablo was the first to see John running towards them, she walked down the dock towards him and pointed a finger.

“What is she doing here?”

“I have no idea; I came in last night and found her here.” He dropped his head and then looked into angry blue eyes. “She ransacked your hut, I called the chief and he’s supposed to be here in a little while.” He flinched when Sonji walked past them and to where Tabitha was standing with her hands planted on her hips.

“When the chief gets here, I’m going to make sure that he puts you in jail!” She turned her back, took two steps before Tabitha’s voice stopped her.

“I found something out about your so called wife that I bet you don’t know.” She held up a handful of papers and waved them in the air. “This island does not belong to her!” Green eyes tracked over to trap pale blue and then worried green. “So when harbor patrol gets here, she’s the one who’s going to jail not me.”

“I can explain Sonji,” Diablo walked closer and winced when green eyes turned fiery and then Sonji took off running towards their hut. “You mother fucking bitch!” Diablo stalked a scared Tabitha, ripped the papers from her hands and took off at a sprint after Sonji.

“You have no idea what you just did you psychotic bitch!” John said as he stepped closer to her. “Diablo will make sure that you never see the light of day now, you hurt her wife.”

“It’s paybacks for making me chase her all over the world!”

“She’s not yours Tabitha, she made that plain as day when you were here last and you yourself said it was over. So leave them alone and go back to your disgusting little life of using people.”

“Ohh she’ll be mine because there’s no way that she can trust Diablo now.” She jutted her chin out and gave John a haughty look.

**************

Diablo came rushing into the hut and found Sonji standing in their bedroom looking down at the trunk that sat against one wall, the lock was smashed into pieces and papers and clothes lay on the floor in a pile at her feet. “Tell me why I shouldn’t pack my stuff and leave.” Sonji stood there looking at the mess that Tabitha had made hoping that answers would rise up and come to her.

“Because I love you and I didn’t lie about anything,” She stepped closer and laid a hand on Sonji’s shoulder. “I just don’t go around using my entire name and it doesn’t really matter in the US what it means.” She held the papers over her wife’s shoulder and urged her to take it. “Read them Sonji, you’ll understand better if you do.” Sonji took the papers and read the first line of the first page; she turned and saw that Diablo had sunk down onto the foot of the bed with her face buried in her hands.

“This is a declaration of royalty for the lands of Thessaly,” She looked and saw that Diablo still sat with her face buried in her hands, she read further and shook her head in confusion. “This is like reading a page out of a history book, what’s it mean?” She sat down beside Diablo and pulled her hands from her face. “Diablo what is this exactly?”

“It’s my family tree if you can believe it and sort of a birth certificate, my legal birth certificate from Egypt is somewhere in that pile. It has my full name on it as well as what’s in your hand.” Sonji scanned to the bottom of the page and saw a whole line of names.

“What is your real name because looking at this I have no idea and besides it’s in Greek?”

“It’s Deianeira Artemis Pheraea Ariadne Diablo Hawthorne; ma’s is the same except for Stesha before the Hawthorne. In there is the deed for this island, it’s under Deianeira of Knossos.”

“We were at Knossos, what has your name got to do with it?”

“Uhhmm…my family can be traced back to King Minos, the first king of Knossos and all of Aegean. It doesn’t really mean that much except to archeologists and history buffs.”

“Then why is the deed under Deianeira of Knossos instead of Diablo Hawthorne?”

“Because everything that I own in Greece is under that name, me and ma are the owners of one of the largest tobacco farms in Volos. It’s been in the family for more years than any of us knows and I’m the last of the line.”

“But you have uncles, what about them?”

“They have a different father than Ma so they’re not entitled to the property, it’s handed down from mother to daughter.” She shrugged her shoulders and looked to her wife. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I just don’t consider it important to whom I am. I’m just Dr. Diablo Hawthorne, retired tomb raider.” She took one of Sonji’s hands in hers and looked to her with pleading eyes. “Can you forgive me?”

“For saving me from having to say all those names, yes.” She brought Diablo’s hand up to her lips and placed a kiss on her wedding band. “Now for my secret, I’m not worth millions…,”

“Money doesn’t matter to me Sonji, the only thing that does is you.”

“Good then you don’t care that I have a few billion dollars lying around in bank accounts.” Diablo smiled and shook her head.

“Nope, I sure don’t. Money isn’t everything, let’s go back down to the boat and see if the chief is here yet. I want Tabitha gone and the sooner the better.”

*********

When they got back down to the beach the chief of the harbor patrol was standing next to John and in front of a raving Tabitha. Her mouth was running a hundred miles an hour and loud enough to deafen them from a distance. Diablo rolled her eyes and took Sonji’s hand; she looked down at her wife and gave her a quick kiss. “You have to listen to me, I know what I saw and read. Diablo Hawthorne does not own this island so that means she’s trespassing!”

“Listen who ever you are, I’ve known Diablo for years and I know for a fact that she owns this island. Now if you’ll come with me I’ll take you back to Oahu and you can talk to the police chief about the charges being brought against you.”

She pointed to Diablo and stepped forward to jab her in the chest. “You can’t do that, I’m telling you that she’s not who you think!”

“Chief haul this psycho out of here,” Sonji said and smacked Tabitha’s hand away. “I saw the papers you stupid bitch and this island does belong to my wife,” She stepped into Tabitha’s personal space and jabbed her in her chest. “And I’m going to have stalking charges added to what ever else is on the list.”

“But it said Deianeira of Knossos or something like that, not Diablo Hawthorne.” John rolled his eyes and groaned.

“Well Princess Deianeira Artemis Pheraea Ariadne Diablo Hawthorne of Knossos looks like your true identity is out there in the open, is there anyone here who cares?” He looked around and saw three heads shake and one set of wide blue eyes belonging to the gaping fish that was Tabitha. “Just what I thought and I never want to have to say your whole name again, it makes my jaws ache.” They watched the chief pull Tabitha down the beach to where he had his boat and one of his officers waiting. “I am so glad she’s gone, I had a Hell of a time with her last night.” He raised his hand when he saw Sonji’s mouth start to open. “I locked myself in the storage hut, I didn’t want her getting in there and destroying the artifacts.” He looked out to the yacht and could see the statue on the deck. “OK, what did you bring me from Greece and if you say nothing I’ll call ma and cry.”

“Ohh Gods, he’s worse than a little kid isn’t he?” Sonji said and then pointed to the runabout. “You help us get our stuff up to the hut and then go out to our yacht; you can’t miss what we brought you.”

****************

The next morning Diablo stood in the water up to her shoulders with a socket wrench in her hand while Sonji sat on her shoulders and placed the bolts in the fittings for the mermaid. John cussed and struggled to hold it in place and sighed with relief when two bolts were in and tight. “I can’t believe you guys had this made for me, she’s beautiful.” He traced the detailed fin with his fingertips and let his eyes travel up to her long hair. “This is from the same man who made your Artemis statue?”

“Yep, he had a form already made from a job he had done for a ship builder, all he had to do was make some adjustments for yours.” Sonji said and then put another bolt in for Diablo to tighten.

“Do you have a card or anything from him, I might know of a few other people that would be interested in his statues.”

“No but ma will have one, you can ask her when she gets here in a couple weeks,” Diablo smirked at the wide eyes and dropped jaw. “That lumber I told you to get is not for a guest house, it’s for ma’s hut, she’s retiring and going to live here.”

“Ohh Hell, I better get building then, I have the floor done but I need help with getting the sides up.”

“We’ll help you get it done and I’ll talk to the chief about bringing in the other stuff by chopper.” Sonji saw the expressions on her wife and John’s faces. “He likes me what can I say.”

“He should after you bought the harbor patrol that new cruiser; it’s called ‘The Sonji’, and they use it to chase down those assholes who speed around the island.”

Diablo narrowed her eyes and pulled Sonji’s head down so that they were looking at each other. “So my McDonalds food cost you a cruiser for the harbor patrol?”

“No, that only cost me the fuel for the chopper. I gave him a bank check and told him to buy what ever they needed.”

“Ohh because I have a doctorate in economics, I don’t use it with my name but she did to impress her asshole friends.”

“This isn’t fair; I don’t have a title in front of my name.”

“Sure you do John, its Captain. Right devil, he’s captain of his charter yacht.”

“Ohh that makes me feel a whole lot better, I get to share the same title as Captain Gibbon of Sonji’s Tomb Raider.”

***********

Diablo and Sonji sat at a long table filled with food at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu; it was the most famous place for luaus and hula dancing of all the Hawaiian Islands. The amount of food on the long table was slowly being diminished by a small blonde. Diablo squeezed her thigh and nodded her head up to where the stage was and then back to see Sonji roll her eyes and fill her plate with more lomi lomi salmon and kalua pork. “I can’t believe that my parents are up there dancing with ma and John looks ridiculous with a coconut bra on.”

“Well at least I’m not up there,” Diablo said in a seductive whisper in her ear. “That could really cause a scene.”

“You might just cause one anyway if you keep blowing in my ear and playing with my leg.” She felt liquid heat rush to her southern areas when long fingers caressed her causing her to moan deeply. “Devil your playing with fire.”

“I know and it turns me on when you moan like that,” She circled her wife’s ear with the tip of her tongue and then whispered. “Think anyone will notice if we sneak back to the yacht?”

“Ohh who the Hell cares if they do.” She got up, took Diablo’s hand and pulled her up from the ground. “Think we can run all the way there or should we take John’s truck?”

***********

Ma watched her daughter and Sonji run from the luau and bumped hips with Mrs. Anderson. “Looks like their off to have another sexathon.”

“That’s all they’ve done for the last week, Sonji doesn’t get that from her dad that’s for sure.” She climbed down off the stage and waved at her husband to join her and ma. “So Stesha, should we give them some time or go tease the Hell out of them?”

“Who are we teasing?” John asked and squirmed around trying to take off his coconut bra. “And how do you women wear these things, they itch and are binding?”

Ma helped him take it off and dangled it in front of his eyes. “The sex fiends and it’s easy you big dummy, we don’t wear coconuts on our tits.”

“Not again, I swear they never get out of bed. And Diablo complains about me and all my girlfriends.” He grabbed Mr. Anderson by the back of is hula skirt and pulled him down off the stage. “Come on dad, we have to go rescue the rest of the island from the girls.”

“Ohh not again,” He mumbled and looked to his wife. “Are you sure she’s our kid, we were never like that?”

“Unless she was switched in the hospital then yeah she’s ours, hard to believe though.” She grabbed her husband by his hand and pulled him towards the parking lot. “Maybe you should talk to Diablo and learn something about sex.” Ma looked to John and shook her head, from what she knew of Diablo and Sonji’s sex life; it would cripple the Andersons.

**************

Diablo came charging down to the beach, spotted John standing with ma and headed right for him. When she was three steps away, she jumped and knocked him to the ground. Cupping his face between her hands, she gave him a huge kiss and hugged him. “Not that I didn’t just enjoy the Hell out of that but why did you do it?” Diablo pulled a plastic stick from her back pocket and waved it in front of him. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yep and it’s positive, I’m gonna be a mama.” She kissed him again, got up and hugged her ma tight. “That means you’re gonna be a grandma.”

“I can handle that but how’s Sonji handling it?” Diablo pulled back and smiled.

“Not too good, she was hugging the toilet when I left.”

“Hold on here a minute,” John got up from the sand and brushed himself off. “I donated but I don’t know who I donated for?” Ma rolled her eyes and explained it to him.

“Your sperm, Diablo’s egg and Sonji’s carrying the baby. I swear men are clueless when it comes to this, let’s go check on her.”

“You don’t have to, I’m right here.” Sonji walked into her wife’s arms and pressed her face against her breasts. “Just don’t mention food or I’ll throw up on your feet.”

“OK, so let’s go up so you can call your mom and dad. I know they’ll be thrilled to death about being grandparents.” She saw Sonji’s face go pale and covered her eyes just before she threw up all over the front of Diablo. “This is going to be a pleasant pregnancy.” She stepped behind her daughter and pushed them towards the water. “Go get cleaned up and I’ll go fix something that will help her stomach, John you come with me, you look as bad as Sonji.”

Months passed with Sonji eating more than usual and getting bigger around the middle as her pregnancy progressed, her moods swung from one extreme to the next and had Diablo running for cover more than once. It was towards the end of her pregnancy that became stressful on the couple, they decided that they would stay on Oahu a week prior to her delivery date to be closer to the hospital while ma stayed on the island. Diablo had moved from their bed at the hotel to sleep in the chair next to it, Sonji had thrashed most of the night and Diablo had the bruises to show for it. She jerked awake when she felt her hand stretched across the distance being pulled on. “Baby I think it’s time.” Sonji whimpered and grabbed her stomach in pain. Diablo jumped from the chair and hit the floor in a heap a second later. “Devil what are you doing down there?”

“My legs are asleep,” She whimpered and crawled towards where she had set Sonji’s small suitcase by the door. “Where’s my pants?”

“Devil, you’re wearing pants. I haven’t seen you naked in days!” She growled and clutched at her stomach.

“Baby, I wanted to be prepared for just this moment.” She crawled to the bed and pulled herself up onto the side. “Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?” She flinched when fiery green eyes locked on hers.

“Right now, I wanna slap the shit outta you!” She sat forward, clenched her stomach, and swore like a sailor. “My water just broke.”

“Ohh shit…hold on I’ll be right back!” Diablo grabbed the suitcase, ran out the door and all the way to the rental car they had. She threw the suitcase in the back seat, dropped the passenger seat to a reclining position and ran back to their room. “OK baby we’re five minutes away from the hospital,” She picked Sonji up and carried her out the door and to the car. Once she had her in, she grabbed her cell phone and called ahead to make sure that their doctor was there. She took Sonji’s hand and kept looking over at her on the short drive. “I love you baby.”

“I love you too devil and I’m sorry for snapping at you.” She brought their hands up, kissed Diablo’s palm and groaned when another contraction hit her.

“Breathe baby breathe, just like we learned.” She took a deep breath and looked over to Sonji. “OK, so we won’t do that.” She turned the car up into the hospital and stopped outside of the ER doors. “I’ll be right back,” She handed her the phone through the window. “Call ma and let her know.” She ran to the ER doors, disappeared and missed the names Sonji called her. When she came back with a nurse and a wheel chair Sonji gave her a look that was incinerating. “Uuhhmm OK, well I…” She looked to the nurse and was happy when she took over.

“OK Sonji, let’s get you inside and up to the maternity ward.” She motioned for Diablo and pointed to the car. “Go ahead and park, you know where we’ll be.”

*************

Ma ran down the dock to where John’s yacht was, jumped aboard and ran down the stairs to John’s cabin. She flung the door open and screamed his name. “Come on Sonji’s in labor!” She walked over to him, pulled the pillow off his face, and smacked him with it. “Come on John, we have to get to the hospital…NOW!” He jumped from the bed and fell back down to blink his eyes at her.

“Ohh shit,” He looked around his room and back at ma. “Truck keys, we need my truck keys.”

“There in the same place they always are, in the ignition.” She grabbed him by his hand and dragged him from the cabin. “We have to hurry; she may have already had the baby.”

**********

Diablo walked into the delivery room and was ready to turn around and go back out as soon as she saw the fierce expression on her wife’s face. She took a deep breath, prayed to Artemis for strength and walked over to the bed. “What do you want me to do baby?”

“Make the pain go away,” She whimpered and held out a hand to Diablo. “I never thought it would hurt this bad.” She squeezed Diablo’s hand with the next contraction and pulled her closer. “Where’s our doctor, I want the baby…OUT…RIGHT…NOW!” She yelled in Diablo’s ear and then bit her shoulder.

“Ohh I think someone is in a rush here.” Dr. Lanua said as he stepped into the room and sat down on the stool between Sonji’s legs. “What have we got under here?” He grinned up at a pissed off Sonji and wiggled his dark eyebrows.

“If you don’t know that then you suck in more ways than one!” He busted out laughing and looked over to his nurse.

“She must have been talking to Bruce, he just loves to brag.” He pushed the sheet up and moved the light to see better. “OK Sonji, are you sure you want to do this without any pain medication?” He saw her nod and nodded back. “OK then,” He rolled backwards and grabbed a sheet from the tray set up and rolled back to Sonji, he looked over to the door when it opened and waved to ma. “Come on in and join the party, we’re just about to start.”

“I’ve been ready it’s you that’s slow!” Sonji said and then squeezed Diablo’s hand again with her contraction. “Closer devil…closer.” She growled, wrapped her arm around her wife’s neck and bit her. The yell that came from Diablo had everyone covering his or her ears and cringing. The doctor looked down, saw the babies head crowning, and yelled above Diablo.

“That’s it Sonji, keep on doing what ever you’re doing!” Ma looked to see tears running down her daughter’s face and hoped that this was a quick delivery for her sake. She stepped up to her and took her free hand for her to squeeze, it was funny in a way, and Sonji was making sure that her wife shared the pain. “Beautiful Sonji, just beautiful, on the next contraction I need you to really push hard.” He looked up to see two sets of wide blue eyes and Sonji resting her head on Diablo’s shoulder. She started to growl low in her throat and then latched onto Diablo’s neck with her teeth. Ma winched from the pain in her hand and covered her ear with the other, she had been through delivery but it hadn’t hurt as bad as the pain in her hand. When she felt Diablo falling to the side, she looked over and saw the whites of her eyes. “Ohh and we have a baby girl.” Dr. Lanua said and placed the squirming screaming baby on Sonji’s stomach. “I guess having Diablo cut the cord is out, Stesha?” He held up the scissors to her.

“Call me ma; after all you’ve been between both my daughters legs.” He chuckled and gave her a bright smile.

“And I know that you believe me when I say I don’t get any jollies when I look down there.”

“Yep, you’re right. Now what about your two passed out patients here?” She was using her hip to keep Diablo from falling and couldn’t see Sonji.

“Sonji’s readings are normal,” He nodded to the nurse to take the baby and then examined Sonji closer. “We’ll toss Diablo on a bed and then I’ll sew the small tear Sonji has here, she did good for having such a big baby, I would have passed out to if I were her.”

“We have nine pounds eleven ounces and 28 inches long.” The nurse said and then started to clean her up. “Not surprising since both Diablo and John are so tall, but I see reddish highlights in this peach fuzzy.” She wrapped the baby up and waited until Dr. Lanua had Diablo up on the bed with Sonji before handing her to ma.

“Must be from John’s side, no one on our side had anything but black.” She noticed a sheepish look on Dr. Lanua face and narrowed her eyes. “What did you do doc?”

“Well, to make it more of Sonji and Diablo’s baby. I aaahhh…did some DNA work on their eggs. The baby won’t have any of his genetics and all of her mothers.” He saw the confusion in ma’s eyes and tried to explain it better as he sutured Sonji. “I took certain DNA strains from Sonji’s eggs and combined them with Diablo’s, then I jump started the egg before implanting it into Sonji’s uterus.”

“Do they know about this?”

“Yeah, in fact they had me implant more than the normal amount of eggs as a safe guard, I couldn’t use John’s sperm because there’s a problem with it, he can’t produce children.” He finished with Sonji and called a nurse over to take them up to a room and one to take the baby to the nursery. “Let’s go into my office and I’ll tell you my findings.” He showed her through into the next room and pointed to a chair beside his desk. “OK, now after John dropped off his sample, we freeze it until we can harvest eggs. Once we have done that, we make sure that everything is normal. I fertilized an egg from Diablo with John’s sperm and then placed it in incubation. Kind of, like what they do with test tube babies, nothing happened. I ran tests and discovered that John’s sperm are infertile; it was up to Diablo and Sonji as to what to do next. They chose the procedure I told you about.”

Ma rubbed her face and nodded her head. “Does John know about this and is there anything he can do to reverse it?”

“I spoke with him and told him what to do to if he ever wants to have children, he was thankful to find out now about this rather than later. Ma, he’s still happy for them.”

“I know he is and he’ll make an excellent uncle, I better go find him and tell him the news. Then I’m going to kick his ass and Diablo’s for not telling me all of this.” She stood up and shook Dr. Lanua’s hand. “Thank you for everything; I’m a grandma because of your hard work.”

“No the hard work was done by Sonji and I have a feeling that Diablo’s going to be really sore when she wakes up.”

***********

John paced the hallway in his bare feet and ignored the strange looks he was getting from other people. He could care less that he was in just boxers and looked the way he felt. His eyes were burning from lack of sleep and his long hair was all over his head, at the sound of ma’s voice, he sighed and walked up to her. “How is Sonji and did she have the baby?”

“The three of them are fine but you young man are going to get your ass kicked.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the elevator. “Why didn’t you tell me that you shot blanks?”

“Ahhh ma, I didn’t want you to know because I thought it made me less of a man.” He dropped his head once they got in the elevator and looked at his dirty bare feet. “Sonji and Diablo sat me down after we found out and chewed on my ass for a good hour, they told me that I’m no less a man because of this. Doc Lanua told me of some things I can do to help if I ever want to be a father, either way I’m happy for them and I’ll help in any way I can.” He grunted when ma hugged him and blushed when she kissed his cheek.

“Their right you know but you could have still told me so that I could have told you the same thing. Now let’s go see the new addition to the family and check on my passed out kids, damn wimps can’t handle a little pain.”

*********

They walked into the room and found Diablo sitting on the bed beside a still asleep Sonji, what got their attention was the ice pack to the side of her neck. “Yassou.” She said through her teeth and closed her eyes in pain.

“What’s wrong devil, you’re talking funny?” Ma walked up to her and moved the ice bag away from her neck. “Ohh that looks really ugly,” She looked closer and saw two small sutures in her neck and a few more in her shoulder. “Damn she really bit you hard didn’t she?”

“Yeah and bruised some nerves ta boot.” She tried to smile but she flinched instead. “Better in a few days.”

“Boy am I glad I wasn’t in there, she would have grabbed something and ripped it off.” John said and then crossed his legs. “Is she OK, I mean I thought after the delivery the mothers are awake and screaming for their babies?”

“I’m too tired to scream, anyone have any food?” Sonji asked and then opened an eye to see Diablo with ice on her neck. “Ohh Gods,” She pulled her wife’s head down and kissed her temple. “How bad did I hurt you?”

“I’m OK,” She looked over to ma and waved a hand. “Baby?”

John held up a hand and went towards the door. “I’ll go check with the nurses and beg them to bring you some food.” He gave them all a bright smile and went out the door whistling.

“And you devil are in big trouble, why didn’t you tell me about John when you found out that Sonji was expecting?”

“Cuz we didn’t,” she looked to Sonji for help. “Baby help.”

“I did to hurt you,” She pulled the ice away from Diablo’s neck and started crying. “Why didn’t you tell me I was hurting you?”

“It was kinda bonding ya know, I shared your pain.” She wiped her tears away and kissed her lips tenderly.

“Hello, I’m still waiting here for an explanation?”

“We didn’t know how you would feel about the procedure we chose,” Sonji looked to her with pleading eyes. “It’s not exactly mainstream and well…”

“Listen to me both of you, this baby girl is special, even more special because she comes from both of you. It doesn’t matter because you two gave me a granddaughter, something I never thought I’d have.” She pulled them into a hug and kissed both their foreheads. “Now for a name for my granddaughter, you know she’s the only heir to a Greek fortune?”

***************

Sonji read the paper that was similar to the one that Diablo had and shook her head; she knew that her parents were going to laugh their asses off when they saw how many names their granddaughter had. “Devil what name are we going to call her?” She looked at the long list of names and then up to her wife and daughter.

“How about Demi Hawthorne and when she gets older we’ll explain to her why she has so many names?” She sat down on the couch beside Sonji and held Demi out to her. “She’s hungry again and Gibbon has her bottle.”

“What is she doing with her bottle,” She pulled her shirt open to nurse Demi and gave Diablo a glance. “Tell me she’s not drinking breast milk.”

“No, actually Beethoven’s drinking breast milk. Gibbon thinks she had a baby and she’s feeding Beethoven and any one else she can tackle.” She tried to get Thelma and Louise but they’re hiding in the dresser with our shorts.” She looked over to her PC when it beeped and got up from the couch. “Baby it’s your parents and you will not believe dad!” Sonji got up, stood in front of the web camera, and groaned at her father.

“Dad that is the ugliest damn shirt I have ever seen, I can’t believe mom let’s you wear it.”

“I tried to hide it but he keeps finding the damn thing, only your dad would run around with a hula dancer with flashing lights on her nipples on his chest.” Her mom said and pushed him out of the way. “How’s everyone doing, you guys need anything and what name did you two decide on?”

“We’re all fine and we have everything we need,” Sonji looked to Diablo and wiggled her eyebrows. “Your turn devil, tell mom and dad all her names.”

“Ohh geez, you’re really gonna make me say that mouth full aren’t you?” She sighed and took a deep breathe. “OK are you ready,” she saw them nod. “Deianeira Artemis Pheraea Ariadne Demeter Hawthorne of Knossos.” She took a deep breathe and finished. “We’re going to call her Demi Hawthorne for short.”

“Oh thank you, there is no way that we could remember all that and why does she have so many names?”

“Ohh because she’s Greek royalty,” Ma said from behind Sonji. “And the only heiress to a Greek tobacco farm, now gimme that baby, I’m gonna tell her the history of her rotten good for nothing ancestor King Minos.” She took Demi and walked over to the couch to begin her story.

“Ohh Hell, Stesha wasn’t kidding was she?” Mrs. Anderson said and looked over her shoulder at her husband. “I’m not even going to ask you, you fell asleep in class all the time but I remember reading about King Minos.”

“No mom, she wasn’t but Demi will be raised just like any other kid. Titles aren’t important in our family and neither is money, she’s just gonna be like any other kid with the exception of having monkeys as playmates.”

“And three grandparents to spoil her rotten, by the way, we got our tickets so we’ll be there in two weeks. You guys all take care and call if you need anything.”

“OK mom and we’ll be there at the airport when you arrive.” They waved and watched the screen go back to the background picture. “OK devil, what’s for supper?” She turned and wrapped her arms around her wife’s neck and leaned into her body.

“I can make some steaks, potatoes and corn…” She stopped reciting her menu when she saw flames erupt in green eyes and a pink tongue run across an upper lip. “That’s not what you were thinking was it?”

“Ohh you are catching on quicker.” She took her hand and dragged her towards their bedroom. “Ma, Gibbon has Demi’s bottle!” She yelled over her shoulder just before she pushed Diablo through the door and closed it. Ma shook her head and looked down into green eyes.

“You would have thought that they would have slowed down after you were born, I think they’re worse.” She cringed when she heard Diablo yell, a thump and laughter. “I’m glad I don’t know what they’re doing in there, I have enough grey hair as it is.” When the laughter turned in to deep moaning, she rolled her eyes, got up from the couch and went out the door. “Let’s go down to the beach and I’ll tell you all about Poseidon, and a dozen other Greek Gods.”

**********

“I bet ma thinks were in here doing something else.” Diablo said as she took a bite out of a piece of baklava and moaned deeply.

“Probably but that doesn’t mean that we won’t later,” Sonji mumbled around a mouthful of the sweet desert. “In fact, I can think of a couple things I can do with this.” She held a piece above her wife’s chest, watched the sweet juice drip onto her breasts, leaned down and licked it off.

“To Hell with later,” Diablo moaned and rolled Sonji beneath her to capture her lips and lick the honey from them. “I love you Dr. Hawthorne and I hope ma recites Homers Iliad and The Odyssey because that’s how longs it’s gonna be before I let you out of here.”

“Throw in Socrates and it’s a deal.”

******

Ma sat on the beach holding Demi with all the monkeys sitting around her; she looked out to the ocean and took a deep breath. “Let’s see, Homer’s Iliad goes like this. Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, which brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures. For so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto, for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people. Because the son of Atreus had dishonored Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover, he bore in his hand the scepter of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant’s wreath and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus, who were their chiefs.” She took a drink of water and a deep breath afterwards. “If I finish this long ass story today, I’m kicking both your mother’s asses.”